


Nico Di Angelo and the Insidious Potion (Year One)

by Phanicmode



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Chaptered, Friends to Lovers, Happy Nico, M/M, Nico is a Dork, Slow Build, Will is a Nerd, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-20 21:15:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phanicmode/pseuds/Phanicmode
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico Di Angelo does not live a normal life. He is a wizard, from a family of wizards, and his dream is to someday become a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And after years of doubting and debating with himself, those days had finally come. He and his new friends have to learn to balance their friendship, their school work, their trickery, and the knowledge of an underlying threat, a threat to the safety of Hogwarts itself….</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boy Between the Bookshelves

Nico Di Angelo is about to place the last card atop his mythomagic pyramid when he receives his Hogwarts letter.

His hands are shaky at best, a common trait among excitable 11 year olds. Decidedly steadying his hand, he can barely contain his smile at the fact that he’s about to finish one of these pyramids without Bianca’s help for the first time. Older, wiser, and calmer than he, Bianca brings a quiet determination to any of his many, many projects, despite the fact that she could almost always have something better to do. Nico loves his sister.

The card in his hand is an Apollo card (+30 health, 2000 defense), and it glints mockingly as he tries to balance it atop his unstable pile. He was lucky to get a shiny Apollo card, having to trade two Heracles and one Polyphemus to a kid during recess. It was so totally worth it though. A shiny Apollo has several special moves, unleashing an array of deadly archery tactics as well as double healing if up against any Titans. Plus, it looks really cool. Nico likes how fitting it is for the god of light to constantly be reflecting it, even if it does hurt his eyes after a while.

Finally, finally, he thinks that he’s balanced it just right. It’s only as he’s beginning to step back and admire his tower that a tawny barn owl swoops in through the open living room window, effectively destroying his temple in one calculated whoosh of soft summer air. He lets out a cry of dismay. His afternoon’s work was ruined! He hadn’t even gotten a chance to show Bianca! But his thoughts are distracted as he focusses on the creature in front of him.

The bird has large, calculating amber eyes. Its feathers are ruffled haughtily, as if it were an offended woman drawing her hand to her chest in disgust. It is probably very hard to show emotion in the face of an owl, but Nico can clearly see in the way it stares right through him the message it is trying to get across: I’m important. Pay attention to me. That is when Nico finally notices the letter attached firmly to the owl’s leg.

Message by owl is not new to him. He has frequently seen Bianca use them to write to some of her school friends, as there is an owl that tends to stay in their backyard that she will sometimes call for a delivery. His father occasionally uses them for business transactions, but Hayden Pluton also believes that ordinary Muggle ways of communication are popular for a reason, and has no problem using them as such. It was never something out of the ordinary for him. He had never before thought about the strange things that happened in his family until the first time he went over to a friend’s house after school one day, and had to be firmly reminded by his father to not let anything slip about the oddities of their lives.

Nico’s father is a wizard. He grew up watching his father create bubbles from his wand for him to pop, to hearing pots and pans clatter and clank to prepare breakfast while they were still in bed, to looking forward to creative expeditions of manufactured wand sparks on Bonfire Night. Nico had grown up in a fantastical world of magic and mystery, and magic and mystery just so happened to be the things that Nico liked best of all. However, Nico’s mother was a Muggle. She had not grown up with such ideas. And while she loved fiction and adventure as much as anyone, it had definitely taken her some time to come to terms with the entirety of another world just beyond her view. She had met Nico’s father while he was on a diplomatic conference for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, where he worked. They had run into each other in a restaurant in the middle of the night, the only two there, and were immediately taken with each other. After they had been seeing each other for seven months, he had told her he was a wizard. She was, as was to be expected, completely shocked. Maria Di Angelo was a strong independent woman, who had always been able to hold her own, and Hayden Pluton was a match for her to a tee. It took a lot to shake her. Eventually, they were able to come to terms with each other. They managed to create a balanced lifestyle, between Muggle and magic. Hayden became a part time Ministry of Magic worker, part time funeral home owner. Maria Di Angelo, who kept her maiden name, was an affluent chef at the Italian restaurant they lived 10 minutes away from. They raised three children, two of them their own, and one adopted child who had run away from an abusive home and had been found by Maria in her restaurant. Hazel may not have been their child, but they treated her as such. She fit into their mismatched family perfectly- A magic father, a non-magic mother, one half-magic child, one supposedly non-magic child, and one soon-to-be-determined-whether-he-was-magic-child.

The tricky thing about half-Muggle-half-Magic relationships is that it is always unsure whether or not the children they have will be given magic traits or not. Bianca had shown signs of magic at an early age, when she suddenly made the television turn orange in her excitement of her favorite show being shown. Hazel was presumed to come from non-magic descent, but Nico had a strange feeling that even so, she might just turn out to be Muggleborn. Try as she might to deny it, he could have sworn he saw her levitating one of her Legos the other day when he came into her room. But as she was a year younger than him, it would be up to the day when she would either receive her Hogwarts acceptance letter or not. That was the only way to truly tell you were magic, in Nico’s opinion.

Then there was the curious case of Nico Di Angelo. Nico had never shown any magical power, even though of the three children, it was he who was obsessed with all things mystical and fantastic. It was why he was so drawn to Greek mythology, begging for every new card set and figurine that was released. He drowned himself in myths and legends and lore, and despite it all, despite how hard he tried, he had never been able to conjure even a measly spark from his fingertips. It hurt him to no end, the thought that he might never go to Hogwarts. He had heard so many wonderful stories, and to know that he might be denied that because of something he couldn’t help settled in his stomach like stone.

But.

Here it was. A letter, crinkled and yellow like it had aged with him, with shiny, elegant green letters that spelled out:

Mr. N. Di Angelo  
The Eastern Bedroom  
57, Eubuleus Drive,  
Amplehaven,  
Berkshire.

His fingers trembled now, as he untied the twine from the owl’s leg, almost as much as they had when he had been building his card castle. That excited energy had now leaked into energy that was half excited, and half very, very scared. This letter held his entire future within that wilting envelope. He suddenly doubted everything he knew. Did a letter mean he had been accepted? Did they send letters to those of wizarding families who had non magic children, to inform them that their children would not be attending? He couldn’t open it. He just couldn’t. As soon as the letter was freed and the owl was safely on its way, Nico sprinted as fast as he could to Bianca’s room, threw the door open without knocking, and shut it loudly behind him.

He was breathing so hard he felt dizzy, and sweat was beginning to form on his face so quickly that his face felt feverishly hot and at the same time ice cold. Bianca looked up from the book she was reading at the slam of the door as if to scold him, but stopped midway through his name at the sight of his face. Her book was quickly abandoned.

“Nico, what’s wrong? Has something happened? Are you alright?” Her voice was concerned and full of worry. Nico could not speak. His throat seemed to have stopped working.

He wordlessly climbed into her bed, and pulled his knees up to his chin before handing her the crumbly letter. Her face lit up at the sight of it. Her green eyes flashed excitedly to Nico’s scared dark brown ones, and her smile threatened to eat up her whole face.

“Neeks, this is great! Oh my gosh, you’ve been accepted! You get to come with me this year!” Voice risen with joy, she was bouncing happily and looking at the letter in her hands. She dragged Nico into a violent hug. Nico was still unresponsive, but was still given small comfort at how happy Bianca was. She noticed his impassiveness very quickly.

What’s wrong? This is great news! You’ll finally get to come to Hogwarts! I promise, it’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of. The classes are fun and informative and the teachers are so welcoming and the food is spectacular and the castle is beautiful oh wow Nico you should see it in the winter it’s absolutely gorgeous and-“

Nico cut her off in a tiny voice, gazing at his knees. “What if it isn’t an acceptance letter? What if this is them telling me I can’t go because I’m not magic enough?”

“Hey, look at me.” Nico turned his eyes to meet her. She was still grinning, but her tone was serious. “I know you’re worried about not having enough magic, but I promise you that you have everything that it takes to be great, whether you’re a wizard or not. No matter what it says on this letter, you’re still the best. But I’m willing to bet you, you’re about to become Hogwarts newest student.”

He felt comfort rise up in him like a warm bath sloshing over the sides of a tub. Bianca believed in him. He could do this. He set his mouth determinedly, and nodded once at her. Then he said, “But what if? If I’m not a wizard, doesn’t all the magic end here?”

Bianca looked at him sympathetically, her eyes still smiling. “Well here, let’s open it right now and find out. If you get in to Hogwarts, you owe me your desert tonight. If you don’t get in, I’ll smuggle you in my trunk. Deal?” Nico hiccupped a little, and smiled sideways at her. He shook her hand.

“Deal. Can we open it together?”

“Of course, brother mine.”

Gingerly, they both slowly ran their fingers underneath the overlapping flap from the outer edge in, their fingers meeting at the center where the red wax seal glared at them like a stop sign. They pried it up with stubby fingers, and lifted out the first folded paper inside. Nico hands were trembling again. He unfolded it with Bianca, but his eyes were closed. He couldn’t look. He hiccupped once more.

Bianca noticed his trepidation, and softly undid the last fold. In a soft, clear voice, she read aloud:

Dear Mr. Di Angelo,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours Sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Headmistress

Nico felt the weight lift off of his stomach, the weight he had carried in him since the moment he became aware of his apparent lack of magic. He felt lighter than a feather, lighter than a ray of sunshine, lighter than air. The loud whoop he let out was followed by several more of its kind, and he tackle hugged Bianca to the bed. Then he got up and started skipping around the room, chanting at the top of his lungs Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please. Rapid footsteps were heard racing down the hall, and the door was flung open once more.

Hazel stood in the doorway, her cinnamon colored hair a curly mess around her face, half braided. She surveyed the scene, perplexed. Nico was smiling like he had been told the gods were real, and skipping about the room, while Bianca sat on her polka dotted bedspread, and gazed at him with a goofy, happy smile on her face too. Maria Di Angelo appeared behind Hazel, holding a brush and a dozen hair ties, ready to plead with Hazel to finally let her finish braiding her hair, when she noticed the ruckus as well.

”Well, what have we got here? What’s got you kids in such a happy mood?” She asked, a smile heading for her face as well. These kids were just too cute. Their smiles were contagious.

“Mama, Mama, look! I was accepted! I got my letter and everything!” Nico yelled, grabbing the letter off of the bed and brandishing it in his mother’s face. She bent down and gave him a big hug.

“Nico that’s wonderful! Oh, we must go tell your father, he’ll be so excited! How about you guys join me in the kitchen after I braid Hazel’s hair huh? We can make some cookies to celebrate!”

The children cheered and ran down the stairs to wait. Well, except for Hazel. She still needed the rest of her cornrows to be done. But Nico and Bianca made haste to the kitchen. Nico was still so full of happiness and high off of his acceptance, that he wasn’t even upset when Bianca reminded him that he now owed her his cookie. He couldn’t care less. The price of a single chocolate chip cookie could never measure up to the sweet, sweet victory he had been granted.

***

Cold grey light shone through the crack in Nico’s curtains, landing sharply and unwelcome on his unsuspecting face. He was still fast asleep, not aware that in three minutes time, he would be rudely awoken by Hazel bouncing up on his bed and shaking him conscious. As for now, he was still fast asleep. Unbothered by the dark hair tickling his forehead, he slept peacefully and soundly. In his dreams, he was again visited by what he liked to call the Silver Rabbit. He also liked to call the rabbit Fluffy, but he felt a bit silly doing so. He used to always see Fluffy in his dreams somewhere, most usually just out of his reach. It irked him to no end, that game of cat and mouse (or in this case, boy and bunny). He wanted nothing more than to pet this glowing ball of fluff, to see if he was as soft as he looked. In tonight’s dream, the bunny seemed to have noticed him, and was standing on its hind legs to look at him curiously. Fluffy’s nose twitched. Nico couldn’t move, but he appreciated that for once, the bunny seemed just as mesmerized by him as Nico was of it. He was finally able to slowly stretch out his hand towards it when-

“NICO! Come on lazy bones, get up, get up, get UP! We’re going to Diagon Alley isn’t that exciting! Come ooooooooon, you’ve got to get up!” Hazel yelled at a frequency far too loud and high for 5 in the morning. His alarm clock, as foretold, continued to poke and tickle him until he could finally sit up and rub his eyes. He was upset that he hadn’t been able to finish the dream. He was finally about to pet the Silver Rabbit, only to have it crudely taken from him. But as he looked up at Hazel, meeting her happy golden eyes, he realized he really didn’t mind all that much. He was about to have a far greater adventure.

Bianca was already dressed and at the table by the time Nico made it downstairs. She had a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of her, and she was methodically separating all of the different marshmallows with her spoon. She liked to eat them all in a specific order: first horseshoes, then hearts, then balloons, then clovers, then pots of gold, then rainbows, then shooting stars, and lastly the moons. She liked to save the moons and stars for last. Nico had once tried to tell her that really, they all tasted the same, but Bianca wouldn’t hear it. She said it was the symbolism that counted. Nico wasn’t really sure what marshmallow stars and moons could symbolize, but he left her to her organization in peace.

He poured out his own bowl and listened to his parents talk about the day’s plans.

“So we’ll Floo to the Leaky Cauldron first. Then we should go to Gringotts, because I don’t carry enough pocket money for all the school supplies. We’ll have to get more potions ingredients for Bianca, as well as all the Third Year books. You know I still think I have my copy of Spellman’s Syllabary, if you want to use that instead darling. It has some of my old notes in it, which will make Ancient Runes much easier, I promise.” Hayden smiled at Bianca, who grinned back at him. He took a long swig of coffee before continuing. “Of course, we’ll need to get all of Nico’s things. So that’s Ollivanders, Madam Malkin’s, Flourish and Blotts, Magical Menagerie, Potage’s Cauldron Shop, Slug and Jigger’s Apothocary, and a couple more places that we’ll figure out when I see your list. Nico, have you still got it?”

He swallowed his cereal noisily before pulling the folded up letter out of his back pocket and slid it across the table to his father. Hayden picked it up with large practiced fingers and scanned it quickly. He rattled off several more shops for them to visit, while Maria nodded along, paying close attention to his words. Nico was done listening though. He was too busy thinking about the day that was to come.

He had been to Diagon Alley only once before, 2 years prior when it was Bianca’s turn to get her supplies for first year. His parents had debated whether or not he and Hazel could come, them being at the tender ages of 9 and 8, respectively. They decided that they didn’t want to take any risks however, and with Nico and Hazel not having shown any magical characteristics, Maria had pleaded with Hayden on allowing them to come in the chance that it would be their only opportunity. Nico doesn’t remember everything from the day. He hadn’t been aware enough at the time, being too distracted by certain things for far too long in that mystical alleyway, and he ended up not having enough time to actually check everything out. This was a punishable crime in Nico’s eyes.

He remembered how bright and bustling it was. The cobblestone street was packed with new and interesting sights and smells. Bangs were frequent and to be expected, as were splats, booms, and pows. Sunlight shone directly in between the shops, and if he remembered correctly, there had been a distinct smell of chocolate and licorice when he had first walked in.

He was so grateful that he would be able to go back there, and was even more excited now knowing that it would be he who would be most involved in the process. He was momentarily stunned when he remembered that today would be the day when he would receive his wand. He would officially be a wizard. Oh, if only there were more hours in the day, so that he could have as much time as possible there….

Hayden clapped his hands loudly, once, as if to conclude a long speech. He smiled broadly at his three children sitting across the table from him, all equally engrossed in their respective cereal bowls. When Nico would look back on this day, he would always remember the twinkle in his eye and how despite his beard, his smile was impossible to miss.

“Time to get moving kids! Lots to see, lots to do, and so little time to enjoy it!”

***

It was a bustling time, even at the ungodly hour 6:30 when they arrived. Landing disheveled and sooty in the fireplace of the leaky Cauldron, Nico weakly wiped his face with the edge of his shirt. Gods, he hated Floo travel. It always spun too fast, and it never felt safe. Half of the time he was convinced he was about to fall right out of a random fireplace, or worse, be shot out the top of a chimney. He had never heard of it happening before, but he was not about to take his chances.

They were bedraggled, yes, but there was no way to defuse the pure excitement that hung over them. Hayden led them out the back way and took out his wand. Hazel bounced excitedly by his side. Nico hiccupped.

Bricks shuttled and twisted across each other, grinding against one another with dull, clacking sounds. The magic worked fast, but to Nico it wasn’t quick enough. With every square of the street revealed, he could feel his pulse accelerate. The archway wasn’t even fully finished forming before Nico grabbed Hazel’s hand and ran with her into the street. Surprised yells from their parents followed them, but they didn’t make it far before they were forced to stand still in amazement.

Hayden once told them that this wasn’t what Diagon Alley had looked like in its prime, and that the war seven years ago against Voldemort caused Diagon Alley into a cold, blue, and desolate place where no one ventured unless it was absolutely necessary. But looking at it now, no one would be able to tell.

It was just as Nico remembered. Brightly colored shops stacked upon each other noisily towered around him, in rickety formations that made Nico positive muggles could have never replicated the design. Red and yellow and green and all other colored awnings jutted out into the street, with brightly painted signs advertising cauldrons and robes and one particular shop that seemed dedicated particularly for potions to make someone look beautiful. Witches and wizards bustled down the street. The pathway echoed with laughter and calling voices, of kids who have caught a glimpse of school friends, and of merchants yelling out to customers jovially, trying to convince them to come in. The air still smelled sweet and light, and it made Nico want to follow his nose all the way to that brightly lit ice cream shop that he seemed to remember from last time. Looking past that, at the very end of the road before it diverged, was the large and impressive Gringotts Bank.

Gringotts was smooth, cold, and impressive. It was known to be impenetrable, and it would be very, very foolish for someone to try to break in. Nico still was in awe at the idea that Harry Potter and his friends had managed to not only break in, but they actually escaped on a dragon. Harry Potter, to Nico, was the epitome of cool. He was everything Nico wanted to be while he was growing up. And as his family made their way through the street stumbling around and trying to take everything in, Nico couldn’t help but feel like he was walking on hallowed ground.

Riding in Gringott’s mine cart make Maria Di Angelo very nauseous very quickly, so she opted to stay back and take Hazel to go look at the owls at Eeylopes Owl Emporium. It was just Nico, Bianca, and Hayden who stepped into the mine cart with the grouchy old goblin who had introduced himself as Garnan. The mine cart really was far too small for a grown man and three children (well, two children and one child sized goblin).

“How fast does this thing go?” Nico asked eagerly.

The goblin smiled sickeningly, showing sharp yellow teeth. “Oh, I think you’ll find it goes fast enough.”

Much too soon for Nico to have prepared himself, they took off down the tracks.

Nothing really describes the sensational of travelling through Gringotts. It was similar to riding a roller coaster, except with the knowledge that there are no safety precautions and a minimum of a 500 foot drop at all times. Cave systems, stalactites, and stalagmites whizzed past them as they sped heavily further down, down, down. Nico personally thought the scariest part was when they went swiftly down a hill only to immediately go up a ramp, causing them to fly off the rails and to fill the air with screams of terror. Garnan simply smirked in satisfaction. He probably loved watching customers be scared. Finally they arrived at vault 512. They all shakily clambered out, Bianca holding Hayden’s hand like it was life support. Nico was pretty sure his father was as grateful for that lifeline as she was. It was all Nico could do to refrain from curling up of the sweet, mercifully solid ground. He had never liked the ground as much as he did then. He would have married it if he could. But then Garnan was handing him a lantern so he could unlock the door, and Nico had to leave preparing his vows for another time.

Nico knew they were rich. Well, not exactly rich, but they had never struggled to find the money for things that they wanted. They were very well-to-do. Hayden was from a pure blood family, and had received a small fortune at the passing of his dreadful father. Between him and Nico’s mother, they also straddled three jobs. So Nico was well aware that there would probably be very much in the vault, but it was a completely different thing to see it with his own eyes.

There were mountains of silver, columns of gold, rolling hills of bronze. Nico couldn’t pick his jaw up off the ground. Hayden went around with a business-like air with a small coin sack, picking up specific columns of large gold Galleons, scooping in a few handfuls of shining silver Sickles, and pushing in a small heap of bronze Knuts.

“Wow….” Nico whispered to himself.

On his first journey to Diagon Alley, he had not been permitted to see their vault, as Maria was reluctant to let either of her youngest children onto that death trap of a transportation system. But at the time, Bianca had pleaded and begged, saying that it would make it feel like the magic of her going to Hogwarts was real. And now Nico understood why she had said that. Here, tucked away under miles of stone and streets, was a small fortune from a world Nico had never been allowed to experience. It was mind-blowing. For the first time, it really sunk in. Nico Di Angelo was going to Hogwarts

***

Back on the street, Hayden checked the list. There were still many places to visit.

There was little incident at the other shops that the happy family visited. Hazel was captivated by the rare rocks and minerals at the apothecary. They had to pull Bianca away from staying in Magical Menagerie, where she attempted to use her best puppy dog eyes to get them to adopt an actual puppy. Nico was in awe of the animals too, until one shockingly purple toad stuck out its tongue through the bars, giving Nico a disgustingly sloppy kiss. At Madam Malkins, Nico was fitted with long black robes, and purchased several plain black ties. Madam Malkin herself, a stern but kind old lady who was very hard of hearing, firmly assured him that once he was sorted into a house, the ties would change color accordingly. Nico, disconcerted by how close her face was to his while she said this, thanked her, hiccupped, and then tripped over his stool while rushing away. At last, there was only Flourish and Blotts and Ollivanders to visit.

You might think Flourish and Blotts would be a boring place, but Nico had never seen a bookshop so full of life. It was late afternoon by then, and the crowded street had grown steadily more so, and for once Nico was grateful for his lack of height. He was able to weave his way through the crown at the door, and was then free to gaze around in awe at the surrounding books.

The room, lightly warmly with red and golden light, had cluttered bookshelves facing in from all sides of the room. You couldn’t tell it if it was viewed from the outside, but the walls were completely circular, with a staircase ascending on the right, and a room straight ahead for check out and, of course, more books. Literature was flitting away through the air, conducted by a witch skillfully unloading a box of what appears to be A Lesson in Lycanthropy by Widgeon Magehuff.

“Hey Nico!” Bianca waved him over to where she was standing with the rest of the family. “We’re splitting up the booklist so that we can find them easier. You get to find One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and A History of Magic. Got it?” Nico nodded. “Great! Let’s make it a race then,” Here Bianca smirked devilishly. “First one back gets the comfy armchair tonight. Deal?”

Nico brightened again. “Deal.”

Bianca looked over at her father, who rolled his eyes slightly and cast a Tempus charm to show that the time was 4:49. At 4:50, they sprinted in opposite directions, clambering to find their books first.

Nico located the Standard Book of Spells incredibly quickly. He figured that since it was required for all years of Hogwarts students, there would probably be an entire section to it. He turned out to be correct. Squirming between several of the taller and older students, he grabbed the thick, shiny green book. One down.

He found the second book on the far side of the store, after several minutes of frantic dashing about, scattering a group of teens chatting excitedly about their summer holidays. Scanning the wall labeled “History”, an entire shelf was dedicated to the book by Bathilda Bagshot. Now carrying two of his books, he felt sure that he must be doing better than Bianca, until he saw her rushing by, carrying two of her books as well. Oh, it was on, now.

Nico strode through the shelves quickly, searching for the Herbology section, when he eventually found it tucked away in the corner of the room (well, it wasn’t really a corner. The room was circular). The shelf was completely full of Herbology books for all ages and levels of academics. And despite how high on his tippy toes that he stretched, he just couldn’t reach One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. It was just beyond where his fingertips ended. He jumped a little. Alas, it was not enough. He almost called it quits when suddenly a tanned hand reached out from behind him, grabbing two copies of the book. Nico spun around quickly, and came face to face with a very blond boy.

The boy held out the book to him. Nico took it, of course.

“Uh, thank you. I definitely couldn’t have reached that on my own.” Nico offered the boy a big smile.

The boy smiled back, quick and blindingly, and for a moment Nico was stunned. He didn’t really know why, but for some reason his stomach dropped suddenly and his chest felt full. The blond was taller than him, yes, but they looked to be about the same age. He was probably a first year as well, judging by his own copy of the book. His eyes were blue. He had dimples. Nico was confused.

“Nico! I found mine! I beat you!” His name being called caused him to whip his head around. He caught sight of Bianca, walking towards him from across the room, holding her three books proudly to her chest. Nico turned back.

“I’m Nico by the way what’s your na-“

But the boy was gone.

Nico felt Bianca stand beside him.

“Who were you talking to?” She asked.

“Oh, you know,” He said distractedly. “No one.”

“Well, I still found all of my books first, so I’m pretty sure I won the bet.”

“No way! I definitely had mine before you, I just hadn’t found you yet.”

“Sure,” she teased, a light, happy grin on her face. “Sure.”

They continued their light-hearted bickering all the way back to their family, and through the checkout line. By the time they exited out into the brightly lit road, the encounter with the boy between the bookshelves was at the back of Nico’s mind.

***

The sun was setting over the edge of the rooftops, bathing the street in warm orange light on one side, with night creeping over on the other. A soft breeze strode through the street, mussing up the hair of shopping and snatching bags out of loose hands. The Di Angelo family stood in front of their final stop of the day, all gazing in silence at the name above the old, creaking door: Ollivanders.

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up into his father’s crinkled, dark eyes, so like his own.

“You ready?” he asked.

Nico nodded.

They walked inside.

Nico’s first impression of the famous wand shop was that it was very, very old. The lighting was dark, only a couple dripping candles providing visibility, but it was still easy to see the rows upon rows of cluttered shelves, with long thin boxes stacked haphazardly on top of each other. An old, wizened man sat behind a desk that looked about as frail as he was. He was writing something, scratching distractedly with a feather quill. He didn’t seem to realize that there was no more ink on the end of the pen. Looking up and spotting the family wavering at the doorway, he sprung up with remarkable agility, coming over to introduce himself.

“Hello, hello all. I am Ollivander. Ah! You are the Di Angelo’s, are you not? I remember your wand, Hayden, very well. Yew, with unicorn hair, 12 inches, incredibly stiff. And Bianca! Dogwood with dragon’s heartstring, an odd combination. 11 and a half inches, pleasantly springy.” He smiled widely, seemingly in good spirits. His eyes were disturbingly pale, almost white. They reminded Nico of the full moon.

“And who have we here? You’re here to get a wand, surely.”

Nico swallowed hard. “I’m Nico. A-and yes.”

Ollivander beamed and straightened up, his bones creaking horribly as he did so. “Wonderful! Please step over here so I can take measurements.”

Nico warily followed him over to the carpet as his family stayed by the door. Making eye contact with Bianca from across the store, he widened his eyes slightly to convey his panic. She just shot him two thumbs up and smiled widely. An old, worn tape measure suddenly zipped around him, and Nico flinched violently as it attempted to measure the distance between his eyes. Ollivander studied him closely.

“Now, which is your wand arm?”

Nico raised his left slightly, and answered as such. Ollivander nodded, and turned towards the back of the store.

“Thomas! Could you come here, please?”

A young man of about 18 came walking between the shelves, ducking a light brown head of hair slightly when passing below a low hanging chandelier. He was carrying a long scroll of parchment, with several wand boxes under his arm. He smiled warmly, blue eyes twinkling, at the family before focusing on Ollivander.

“Yes, sir?”

“Could you please go to the left handed section and find boxes 2213, 3724 and 1976 for this young man?” The boy, Thomas, nodded and jotted the numbers down on the parchment before retreating back into the shelves.

Ollivander turned back to the inquisitive family. “That is my great-nephew, Thomas Ollivander. I am planning on retiring soon, but I would rather like to keep the family business alive. Thomas has shown great proficiency in wandlore and wandmaking. He is turning into a fine young man, isn’t he?” Here he winked at Nico. Confused, Nico looked back to see if the wink was meant for someone else. There was no one else behind him.

“Ah, here we are,” Thomas returned carrying three old, dusty boxes. Ollivander lifted the top of one with practiced hands and held it out to Nico. He took it, his heart pounding in his throat, suddenly full of anxiety once more.

“Now, that is English Oak, with dragon heartstring, 11 inches and reasonably swishy. Go on, give it a wave.”

Nico looked at it. It felt clunky and wrong to his fingers but he gave it a small wave anyway. A paper nearby caught on fire, and Ollivander shook his head frantically, motioning for him to put it down. Nico was more than happy to comply. Ollivander held another out to him.

“This one, here, is a curious one. Black Walnut with a phoenix feather, 10 and half inches, pliable. This one is particularly attuned to self-conflict, so you have to be sure to be careful in-“But the moment that the wood hit Nico’s fingers Ollivander visibly recoiled, drawing the wand back. Nico’s heart pounded frantically. Had he done something wrong? Maybe he wasn’t even magic. Maybe Ollivander could sense the absence of it in his soul.

But Ollivander just smiled at him, a half sad, and half encouraging smile. While Thomas handed Nico a third wand, Ollivander himself shuffled down the dim shelves in search for a particular wand.

He came back, carrying yet another dusty old box, one that looked exactly like all of the other wand boxes piled on the table. Ollivander said nothing, and simply held it out to Nico.

The wood fit perfectly in his hand, and warmth spread throughout his fingertips as he gazed, shocked, at the wand. It was straight, reasonably long, and light brown, with and intricate engraving on the handle that Nico would have liked to investigate further. He swished the wand lightly through the air, purple sparks emanating frantically from the end. Everyone in the store clapped excitedly and Hazel and Bianca immediately rushed over to come see it up close.

“Pine, Dragon Heartstring. 10 and ¾ inches, surprisingly supple. I’m sure it will work quite well for you, Mr. Di Angelo. Use it well. That’ll be seven Galleons.”

***

That night, Nico laid in bed thoroughly exhausted by the day’s happenings, but also immensely pleased. Soft light from the lamp outside his window filtered through the curtains, illuminating the packages from their earlier escapades. His father had allowed Nico to keep his books and such with him, but had insisted on keeping his wand in his office with Bianca’s, where it would stay until September first. He was afraid that Nico would fall into temptation and attempt to do magic without proper training. Nico ached to be away from his connection to the magic world, but agreed that is given easy access, he probably would have fallen prey to that temptation. Oh well.

He slumped further down in his pillows, rolling to one side so the he could stare contemplatively at the wall, and muse over everything that has happened. It had been a wonderful day. Nico wouldn’t have traded a single moment of it away. He fell asleep dreaming of Hogwarts, and of the adventures he was sure to have there.

Nico dreamed of the Silver Rabbit once again, but this time it was conjured up by a laughing boy with hair like sunshine. Dream Nico felt that same rush in his stomach, like a bird trying to desperately flap its wings. Nico awoke, and then fell unconscious once more. By the time he rose the next morning, he had no recollection of the dream involving the boy between the bookshelves.


	2. The Journey to Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long, especially after only posting one chapter! Updates should come sooner from now on.

The thing about packing a trunk is that despite how much room you might think you have, there is still never enough room for everything. It’s sitting open on Nico’s floor, books strewn around inside it and clothes shoved in every corner. He’d even shoved his socks inside rolls of parchment in order to make more room. He groaned in frustration.  


Nico had been attempting to pack his trunk for almost two hours now. No matter how he tried to fit it all, there just didn’t seem to be enough room. The trunk itself was huge- if Nico were to lay down beside it, with the top of his head at the top of the trunk, the bottom of it came to about his shins. Nico wasn’t short for his age, but he wasn’t tall either, so he considered this to be a very big trunk indeed. No, the lack of physical space was not the problem here. The problem was that he had so much stuff. He had his clothes, his books, his supplies, his shoes, and extra things to have for fun. There just wasn’t enough room for it all.  


Glancing at his soon to be new Charms textbook, he got an idea. Maybe he could expand it with magic! He started sifting through the pages excitedly, almost getting a papercut from turning the pages so fast. But his heart sank as he scanned the table of contents. He had no idea how to do any magic. There was no way he’d be able to find that spell, let alone properly execute it. He didn’t even know if there was a spell for that purpose, anyway. The fact that he didn’t even have a wand was beside the point.  


He looked outside. The sun that had been rising all throughout his frustrating morning seemed to hang just above the tops of the trees, looking very much like it had stopped to just watch his lack of progress. Nico could almost hear it jeering at him. Look at how little progress this tiny boy is making, it seemed to say. Look at how behind he is, while I continue my glorious journey across the sky.  


“Yeah, well you can stuff it, sunshine.” Nico muttered angrily to himself.  


“Who can stuff it?” Nico heard a soft voice behind him say. He spun himself around.  


“What does stuff it even mean?” Hazel’s golden eyes were wide and innocent. She was twisting her hands together distractedly, like she was trying to wash them in midair.  


“No it’s just-“Nico looked back out the window. He felt a bit silly knowing Hazel had heard him mocking the sun. “Never mind. Do you need anything? I’m trying to pack.”  


“More like failing to pack.” She plopped down to sit beside him. “How are you going to find anything in this mess?”  
Nico groaned again, setting his head against his knees and running his fingers through his short dark hair. “I can’t seem to make everything fit! There’s just too much stuff. Look, look at this. Do I even need four robes? Tell me that’s too many robes. Please. Also, it’s so unsanitary! I don’t want my potion ingredients sitting right next to my underwear! What if it breaks when being unloaded or something? Everything’s a disaster!” His voice rose as he grew more passionate, collapsing onto the ground.  


Hazel snickered at him, not unkindly. She was still lightly chuckling as she began to take all of his robes out of the trunk, folding them neatly. The folded robes were at least half the size of the wadded up robes. They fit snugly in one corner, while the potion ingredients were cushioned by socks in the opposite corner, the remaining space between them filled up with textbooks, quills and cauldrons. Nico gazed on in awe.  


“Where on earth did you learn that? Did Mama teach you that? Can you teach me?”  


Hazel laughed again, eyes twinkling. “No way! You know Mum’s rubbish at folding clothes. That’s why I do it. And have you ever even noticed our rooms? Yours is always a sty, and mine is always neat. I can’t stand the mess.” She pulled a pair of socks from the last scroll of parchment and tucked both objects in. “There.”  


Nico tackle hugged her, yelling out his thanks profusely. She just shook her head, smiling, and pushed him off of her.  
“Mum says to be downstairs by 11. She wants us all to have lunch, and then she wants to check again that both yours and Bianca’s robes fit.”  


Nico promised her he’d be there, and she left the room quietly. Nico gazed proudly at his completely packed trunk. It was real. He was ready for Hogwarts.  


Well, almost ready. Struck by a sudden thought, Nico moved quickly across the room, digging through his chest of toys for one specific thing… Aha! There it is! Nico tucked the final thing, the original 125 Mythomagic card deck into his truck. Now he was ready for anything.  


***  


Nico wasn’t ready for this.  


He stood next to his parents in the crowded station of Platform 9 ¾. Smoky air filtered in between passing figures, all frantically piling trunks into the train or racing to say goodbye to their loved ones. Nico was constantly bumped in the shoulders by people’s elbows, as he was at a height where he generally was half of a person’s size. Despite the constant pushing and pulling and turning around, nothing stopped him from taking in the beautiful train in front of him.  


It was a brilliant scarlet color, with black and gold details scattered about. Nico personally felt like the train was a bit Gryffindor looking, if what Bianca had told him was true. Smoke erupted from the pointed whistle atop the train with a shrill shriek- the five minute warning. Nico was seized by fear.  


It was everything he had ever wanted, right there on silver train tracks. A path to freedom, a path to magic. But standing there, a mere twenty feet away, all Nico could think about was how much he was going to miss his parents, and how much he was going to miss Hazel. A small hand rested lightly on his shoulder, and he turned to face it.  


Hazel smiled at him, a huge happy smile despite the obvious tears she had in her eyes. She pulled him in close and whispered, “Have fun Nico. Make some friends. Enjoy yourself. I expect to hear all about in the letters okay?” Nico nodded numbly. His parents hugged him next, quickly, for they were afraid he would miss the train.  


He barely had time to kiss them on both cheeks before they were hugging Bianca and he was suddenly on a train, clutching Bianca’s hand. He looked up at her.  


“It’s really happening, isn’t it?” He said to her.  


She squeezed his hand. “It sure is buddy.”  


Nico peeked down the long carpet hallway, gripping the pole at the edge of a carriage for support as the train hit a slight bump. The hallway was filled with people of all sizes, switching between carriages for the opportunity to see all their friends. The air was full of illegal sparks of magic, from all of those underage wizards packed into a single train. Nico felt where his wand was tucked into his belt. He was one of them now.  


He looked back at Bianca, who was watching him carefully. She asked, “Do you want to sit with me?” And Nico was so relieved it was all he could do to nod his head.  


She led him through the corridor, maneuvering their trunks past two boys who were wrestling good-naturedly on the floor, and squeezing past a group of chattering boys and girls so big that it not only filled the compartment, but also spilled into the next one. Nico shuddered slightly. He’d never been around to many people in such a small space.  


Finally they came to one of the compartments near the end of the train, where the people were more scarce and the compartments were emptier. Bianca stopped in front of one, a huge smile growing on her face, and she threw the door open with a loud cry of “Annabeth!”  


‘Annabeth’, or the person Nico assumed was Annabeth stood up, with a laugh, catching an excited Bianca in a large hug. They embraced and let go, each with huge smiles on their faces.  


“Gosh, Bianca how have you been? Did you have a good holiday?” the blonde asked.  


“It was good! I had a lot of downtime, which was nice. I missed having time to read.” Bianca said as she lugged her suitcase and Nico’s inside, storing them in the overhead compartment. “Also, guys, this is my little brother Nico. He’s a first year, go easy on him.” She sent him a teasing smile.  


Nico, who was wavering on the edge of the door and the hallway, blushed slightly at the teasing remark, but felt his face warm even more when everyone in the compartment smiled and motioned him inside. He sat down between Bianca and one of the boys, the one with the curly black hair. The new boy stuck his hand out to Nico, and Nico noticed that he had about ten or so bracelets dangling on one arm.  


“Hi Nico! I’m Percy. Welcome to Hogwarts, you’ll love it. Any idea what house you’ll be in?” The boy’s eyes, a shocking bright green, smiled happily. Nico shook his head.  


“Ah, that’s alright. No one really knows til Sorting. I wouldn’t be worried about it. No matter where you go, you’re bound to make friends.” Percy patted Nico on the shoulder, who jumped a little at the contact. He eyed him sideways and gave a slightly grateful smile.  


“Course, you were scared out of your wits the first day, Perce. You nearly wet yourself on the way in, I remember.” Piped up the boy in the other corner of the room. He was leaning back calmly against the window, fiddling with what appeared to be a Rasta cap.  


“Was not! You’re just remembering that you tripped me getting out of the boats and I fell in the water. “Wet myself”, yeah right!” Percy growled jokingly. He leaned across and stole the hat from the boy’s hands, ignoring the outraged cry from the brown haired boy. Percy jammed the hat on his own head, and knocked Nico in the side in his haste to get away from the hat-boys groping hands.  


“C’mon Grover, you’ve got to try a bit harder than that!” Percy laughed, jumping over to steal Grover’s old seat.  


“Children, children, calm down! We have guests.” Annabeth said. Her face was schooled to be admonishing, but she was holding back a smile.  


Grover and Percy sat down in their seats quickly, sending her bright smiles. “Yes, Mother Annabeth.” They chorused sweetly. There was a perfect silence for about five seconds before the three of them burst out laughing.  


Nico looked over to Bianca, chuckling slightly at the kid’s antics, and noticed how fondly she was smiling at them. There was such a happy glint in her eye, a glint Nico had only seen when she was hanging out with their old childhood friends. She must really like these people.  


Nico leaned back and let himself relax. He was in good company.  


***  


“What’s that in your hand, Nico?”  


Nico looked up at Grover, who was grinning good-naturedly at him. He looked back down at the card in his hands. It had been an hour or so since they had boarded the train. Since then, he’d grown somewhat bored with listening to his sister and her friends catch up about what they’d done over the summer, and had taken to absentmindedly shuffling through his Mythomagic cards.  


“It’s a card from a game I play, called Mythomagic. Have you ever heard of it?” Nico asked. Grover shook his head, but Annabeth jumped a little and turned to watch the conversation.  


“I’ve played that game before. It really is quite fun.” Annabeth jumped in. Nico smiled at her.  


“Well,” Nico continued, “It’s basically a card game where you and your opponent have a hand of cards. All the cards relate somehow to Greek Mythology, whether it be a monster, god, demigod or-“  


Percy interrupted him, cocking his head to one side, “What’s a demigod?”  


“It’s when a god has a child with a mortal. Er, a human. They’re generally the source of all the old Greek tragedies. They didn’t usually have happy lives, constantly plagued with torture and quests and stuff. Not very pretty.” Nico answered.  


Percy made a disgusted face. “That sounds horrible. Glad I don’t have to go through that, am I right?” Everyone in the compartment made noises of agreement.  
“Anyway,” Nico pushed on, “It’s just a really fun game. You can attack or defend or do whatever you want. Do you want to play?”  


So the five of them sat cross-legged facing the center of the compartment. Annabeth pulled down a few of the trunks to create a makeshift table, where Nico placed the rest of the deck of cards. They took turns going in a circle, the game growing increasingly heated as the stakes grew higher and higher.  


“Take that Grover! Your woodland goat man is no match for the tide of Poseidon!” Percy yelled, throwing his card down. Grover groaned in frustration.  


“Well, uh, take this! Dryads have an attack of 400, and uh, use nature power to control the plants, and uh…? Alright I can honestly admit, I don’t really know how to counteract that. Can I skip?” Nico shook his head at him, and Grover groaned again, softer, and gazed angrily at his cards. “Fine. I use ambrosia on myself, and restore 350 health points. Your turn Annabeth.”  


The game continued in such fashion, Grover being the first to get out (“No fair! Why does nature magic have no effect on practically everything?). Then Percy was defeated with a clever move from Annabeth, counteracting Percy’s Poseidon card with her Athena, and effectively kicking him out of Athens, so to speak. Nico apologetically defeated his sister, who accepted in graciously. She was far too used to being beaten at Mythomagic. Finally, it was just a tournament between Nico and Annabeth.  


The three who had already been beaten watched avidly, their eyes flickering back and forth like they were watching a tennis match. They weighed their options- who would win? Nico, the seasoned player, the never before beaten first-year? Or Annabeth, a seasoned strategist, renowned at school for her fail-proof plans and master pranks?  


It ended up a draw. Each of them only had one card left, and they were nervously eyeing each other. Nico felt a rush of adrenaline. He had never been beaten before, and he didn’t want to start now, on the first day of school. Annabeth faced a similar, but different dilemma. She sort of didn’t want to beat Nico. He was a sweet kid. She didn’t want them to get off on the wrong foot. She smiled nervously at Nico.  


“Turn them over at the same time?”  


Nico hiccupped in response. Trembling, both of their hands found the corners of their cards, and flipped them over with a flourish.  


Resounding yells rang out through the entire cabin as everyone stared at the cards in disbelief. Somehow, they both had the same card, one of the power-up cards used in every deck. They both had ones for wisdom. They smiled at each other and shook hands, as Percy, Grover and Bianca continued to clap loudly.  


“Good game,” Nico shouted slightly, to be heard over the noise.  


“You too. Hey, maybe it’s a sign you’ll be in Ravenclaw. That’d be cool, huh?” Annabeth said as everyone quieted down.  


“You think so? What about you guys, what houses are you all in?” Nico asked curiously.  


“Well, Percy and I are both in Hufflepuff. He’s got the loyalty, I’ve got the good-looking.” Grover said jokingly, slinging an arm around Percy’s shoulders.  


“Hey!” Percy said laughing, pushing Grover slightly, “It’s good-hearted, not good-looking. If it was about being attractive there’d be no way you’d be there.” He stuck his tongue out teasingly, and Grover pushed him lightly, letting out an offended “Hey!”  


“So yeah, those buffoons room together, which must be a nightmare for the other two in their dorm. Luckily, I room with my main gal Bianca here in Ravenclaw, so we get to mess things up on our end too.” Annabeth also slung her arm over Bianca, pulling her into a tight hug, where Bianca laughed lightly.  


Nico grinned at everyone’s goofiness. “Well, wherever I end up, I hope I have as much fun as you all seem to be having.”  


“Aw yeah Nico! I’m sure everything will be great. You seem like a good kid. Any house would be lucky to have you.” Grover said sincerely. Nico hoped he wasn’t blushing.  


“Thanks I-“But he was cut off by the sudden feeling of the train slowing to a halt, and a voice from the corridor alerting all the students that they had arrived. Whoever it was was making their way down the train, rapping on doors, as Nico could hear the voice growing louder with each passing moment, and the indignant squawks of student surprised by the oncoming fist.  


“We’re here already?” Bianca asked, surprised. The train ride had gone by very quickly. But a look out the window informed everyone that they had indeed made it into the Hogwarts station. A sharp rap at the door made everyone’s head shoot to look at it. A gangly boy several years older than all of them smiled in. He practically glowed with pleasantness and repressed mischief, the handsomeness of his face only deterred from the long scar adorned on his cheek. A shiny badge on his chest read “Gryffindor Prefect”.  


“Hey guys! Good to see you! Wanted to let you know we’re at Hogwarts, but I guess you know that. Hey Annabeth! Your hair looks nice! Percy, that a new bracelet? G-man, sweet cap! Bianca, wow look how many freckles you have!” The tall stranger made his way through the room, exchanging happy hugs and compliments with everyone. Eventually, he stopped in front of Nico.  


“Well, I don’t think I’ve met you! What’s your name kid?”  


Nico looked up at him, craning his neck slightly to be able to look him in the eye. Dang, this guy was tall. He stuck out his own tiny hand nonetheless.  


“I’m Nico Di Angelo.” He said.  


The boy beamed at him. “Nice to meet you Nico! Bianca’s told us a lot about you. I’m Luke. I’m Gryffindor prefect this year, so whether you get put in Gryffindor or not, you ever have a question, just come ask me!” He moved towards the door, clapping Annabeth on the shoulder once more on his way out.  


“I’d best continue making my messages. Have fun at the feast!” He left the room. It seemed a lot emptier than it had before. That guy had a presence like none other, had filled up the room.  


“He seemed nice.” Nico supplied.  


That broke the stupor. Everyone laughed a little and started heading towards the doors.  


“Hey guys shouldn’t we get our trunks and stuff?” Nico asked, noticing that they were leaving all of their possessions behind.  


“Nah, those will be brought up to the school later and put in your room. Besides, you especially don’t want to take yours. It’s hard enough to get across the lake dry as it is.” Percy said jokingly, hand on the door.  


Nico nodded and then stopped suddenly when the words sunk in.  


“Wait… across the lake?”  


***  


Nico hated boats. Absolutely despised them. He never even liked being in water either, steadfastly refusing to learn how to swim, despite his families protests that it could save his life someday. He hated water, especially large bodies of water- hated their glossy surfaces, hated the way they hid things in their depths, hated the way they got darker the deeper they got. And he hated gliding across it, even if the view from the boat was spectacular.  


He was gripping his ropes so tight that his entire fists had turned white, and he was pretty sure his face had turned to match it too. Either that, or his face had turned green. The other boy who had climbed into the boat with him turned around to express his delight in how cool the castle was surely, but he laughed slightly when catching sight of Nico’s face.  


“Aw man, are you sea sick? If you puke, just don’t get it on me, alright?” The boy grinned, but it was pretty hard to see much about him other than that in the dark light. Was his hair curly? Was it dark or light? Nico couldn’t really tell.  


The boy stuck his hand out to Nico. “I’m Cecil by the way. What’s your name?”  


Nico unclenched one hand and weakly returned the gesture. “Nico.”  


“Pleasure to meet you Nico. Now tell me, do you just dislike boats in general or is it just this one?”  


“Just don’t like water.” Nico gasped. “For boats, don’t like the way they move.”  


“So if I were to like, start rocking back and forth-“  


“Please,” Nico interrupted, closing his eyes, “Dear God, do not start rocking back and forth.”  


“I’m just messing with you man. Look, we’re almost here anyways! That wasn’t so bad was it?”  


Nico opened his eyes. Cecil was right- their boat was beginning to pull itself up onto the gravelly shore. He let out a soft sigh of relief. He’s made it. Thank the dear lord. Cecil giggled a bit at the relieved look on his face and got out of the boat, before reaching out and offering a hand to Nico. He accepted, and shakily stepped out. Now that he was on solid ground, he looked up in wonder at the massive building looming over them. It was monstrous- huge turrets and arches, with huge beautiful circular windows, and various bridges and gargoyles to boot. Nico was pretty sure his jaw was on the ground.  


“Beau’iful innit? Every time I see it, swear it gets prettier.” A gruff voice said from beside. It was the man that had led them across the lake, with the wild hair and the lantern three times bigger than Nico’s head. Nico looked over at him- no, over wasn’t the right word. It was more like Nico looked up at him- if he had thought Luke was tall, well this man was at least twice the height of Luke. Nico just nodded, now impressed by the size of both the castle and the man.  


A hand the size of a dustpan swooped down and patted Nico comfortingly on the back. Well that’s probably what he meant to do. It felt more like we was being repeatedly pushed over. “You’ll get used t’ it eventually. Don’ worry, you’ll have the best years o’ your life in there.” The man smiled warmly down at him, his eyes crinkled by both years and kindness. Nico felt a rush of affection.  


“T-thanks.” He stuttered out.  


Everyone looked up at orange light spilled out onto the lawn. One of the doors at the base of the huge stone building was opened now, and a figure stood against the blinding light.  


“Come in,” the figure called out, “It is time for you to be Sorted,”


	3. The Sorting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how I said updates would start happening sooner? Yeah. that was a lie. sorry. also i'm not going to have a computer for like three months so???? temporary hiatus i guess. while i'm computer-less i'll still try to get some writing done.

The room that they walked into was, luckily big enough to fit them all. Taller than it was wide, the stone room felt immeasurably huge. Knowing how small this room probably was in relation to the rest of the castle, Nico felt a little bit overwhelmed- this was the biggest building he had ever seen.

He stumbled slightly, accidentally catching the back of some girl’s shoe. She smirked at him as he stumbled out an apology, and ruffled her short pink hair as she turned back around. Embarrassed, Nico tried to move away to the sides of the room, and he couldn’t help the pleasant warm feeling in his chest as he noticed that Cecil was walking with him.

Nico could see the other boy more clearly in the orange light from the fire along the walls. It cast weird shadows on his face, lighting up his curly light brown hair an orange-white at the edges, like someone had tried to spray paint around the outside of his head. Even though he wasn’t talking, his mouth was pulled to one side like he was about to crack a joke, and his dark eyes took in the castle walls with a twinkling mischief. When he noticed Nico looking at him, he smiled a goofy smile, and opened his mouth to say something that probably would have been witty and hilarious, but alas, was cut off as a gasp swept through the room. The two boys turned along with everyone else, and Nico couldn’t really believe what he saw.

It was a ghost. Or at least, this was the most ghost-like girl Nico had ever seen, as she was a glowing pearly green and was floating at least 6 inches above the ground. She looked to be in her late teens, with hair in a messy, curly braid to one side, and eyes scrunched up in amusement. Despite being dead she really didn’t seem very sad at all. In fact, she smiled a very big smile at the shocked crowd of soon-to-be-first-years.

“Well, hello there! My, don’t you all just get smaller as the years go on! You all are about to be Sorted, yes?” A few students nodded mutely. “Wonderful! I remember my Sorting Ceremony. I was terrified. But, don’t worry! There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’ll always be placed where you need to be, I can tell you that.”

The door on the opposite wall began to creak open, and while some students whipped around to see what was happening, many, like Nico, were still transfixed by the glowing teenager.

“That’ll probably be Hagrid to lead you in. If you have any questions or ever need to talk, just come find me! My names Hestia. Have fun!” She smiled again, a sweet one, and glided through the wall.

Hagrid opened the door all the way, golden light spilling into the stone entry room. Nico felt his stomach drop in anticipation, and glanced around to see if anyone else felt the same way. He was slightly mollified by the noticeable paleness to Cecil’s face and the tension in his shoulders. Hagrid clapped his huge hands together, and the whole crowd jumped. He chuckled at them good-naturedly.

“They’re ready for ya now. Follow me!”

The Great Hall was named perfectly, because Nico honestly didn’t think he’d ever seen a hall greater than this one. Craning his neck towards the ceiling, he took in the roof with a kind of quiet awe. The stars shone and twinkled down into the room, and the giant luminous moon cast a silvery light that contrasted greatly with the hundreds of floating candles scattered about. Nico wondered about the candles themselves. Were they magically suspended? What if they burned too much, and dripped hot wax downwards? Would it be caught with magic or would the unlucky student beneath just have to deal with minor burns? Nico can’t imagine it being that last one. Surely they had some sort of health and safety precautions.

His gaze was torn from the sky when he abruptly ran into the boy in front of him. Nico opened his mouth to apologize but the boy cut him off.

“Watch where you’re going, idiot. Can’t you use your own feet?”

Nico shut his mouth. Mumbling a slight apology, he eyed the boy as he haughtily turned back around. Weak, skinny, and pale, with hair so blonde that it looked almost colorless, that touched the collar of his shirt. Not only did he act like a jerk, he looked like one too. The boy noticed him looking and gave him another menacing glare, causing Nico to drop his eyes again. Cecil patted Nico comfortingly on the arm, making him jump slightly.

“It’s alright Nico. He’s just being rude. Plus, he looks like a scarecrow.” He whispered. Nico had to stifle a snort as Hagrid gruffly set a wobbly wooden stool with a large old hat down in front of them.

Nico looked at it curiously. It was worn and dusty and covered in mismatched stitches, as if it had been repaired many times since its making. Something about it radiated wisdom though. Nico almost couldn’t find it in himself to be surprised when a seam near the brim ripped open and began to sing- almost. It sang in a loud clear voice:

 _“Listen close and listen well,_  
_For I’m about to share_  
_The entire story of Hogwarts._  
_Believe me, I was there._

 _The founders thought they would remain_  
_As teachers for all time._  
_But on the chance they could not stay,_  
_The pleasure would be mine._

 _Twas in the early days of youth,_  
_When Gryffindor sewed me new,_  
_To sort new students into place,_  
_Where their journeys would be true._

 _Whether that be Hufflepuff,_  
_Where there are hearts as good as gold._  
_These accepting folks shall be your friends,_  
_From when you’re young to when you’re old._

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
_Where dwell the sharp of mind._  
_These creative and enduring ones_  
_Harness the knowledge of mankind._

 _Or you could be in Gryffindor,_  
_Where the courageous ones are found._  
_They’ll protect their friends fierce and true_  
_Til they’re put in the ground._

 _Or last of all in Slytherin,_  
_Where lie those of great ambition._  
_These cunning and determined folks,_  
_Do it all to achieve their mission._

 _So come on up and try me on,_  
_Pull me snug about your ears._  
_And I’ll tell you where you should be_  
_For all your Hogwarts years!”_

The school exploded into applause. The hat bent its pointed tip towards the masses, as if taking a bow, and then became still again. Nico was completely bewildered. He had seen and heard many weird things, but even despite being warned it was a little disorienting to see inanimate objects possess the power of speech and movement.

The strict looking lady seated at the center of the table facing the first years stood up from the large ornate chair and walked down next to the stool. She pulled a yellow, cracking piece of parchment out of seemingly nowhere.

She looked over her glasses to the group of students fidgeting at her feet. “As always, we will begin by welcoming new students into our midst. When I call your name, please step forward so that you may be placed in your Houses.”

“Octavian Augustine!”

The boy Nico had run into earlier haughtily stalked up to the stool and shoved the hat on his head. His expression was schooled into a dignified and detached sort of disgust, but Nico privately thought he looked ridiculous with that giant droopy hat on his head. His frame was so skinny and his head so small that Nico could easily imagine the Hat simply swallowing him whole. Instead of eating him, the hat instead seemed inclined to just sit silently. Or at least, it was silent to everyone else. From the way that Octavian was rolling his eyes, he was having some form of conversation with the enchanted headwear. He then looked very pleased with himself, and actually whispered aloud, “Yeah, where else would I be?” before the rip in the brim of the hat yawned open again and screamed the word “SLYTHERIN!”

The table to the far left erupted in cheers and Octavian smiled hauntingly as he went to join them. Nico felt inexplicable relief when he lost sight of him. The relief spread as he realized that the Sorting process seemed to be pretty private. He’d heard about the hat and the Sorting from Bianca of course, but he’d always been afraid he would have to converse with it aloud.

A few more people were Sorted as Nico anxiously waited for them to approach the surnames beginning with D. A pretty girl named Reyna with a braid of hair long enough to hit her waist was also sorted into Slytherin, after she told McGonagall in front of the entire school that she’d prefer to be referred to with her first name only. Another boy named Clovis Cadal fell asleep as soon as the hat dropped over his eyes, and the hat laughed and put him in Ravenclaw, where he sloppily settled into the bench and promptly fell asleep again.

Nico craned his neck and grinned, trying to catch a glimpse of the sleeping boy, but then a few small words made the blood rush to his head.

“Nico Di Angelo.”

He tried very hard to not feel like he was marching to his own death.

The old wooden stool was rickety and weak when he settled upon it, and he made sure to prop the hat on his head in a way that he could still see the tables. His head was still very small though. He cursed himself once again for being so short.

_I’m sorry to inform you that you are probably always going to be very short, my dear boy._

Nico almost fell off the stool.

_Now, calm down. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. That tends to happen._

“It’s okay.” Nico thought softly, feeling a bit ridiculous.

_Good. Well let’s take a look then. My, a lot of potential here. You’re brave, definitely, so brave in ways that you don’t even realize yet. And loyal too- you would stand by your family and friends til your very last breath. And wisdom, creativity- mounds of it. You strive to create, to build, even when you feel like all you do is break things down. You’re full of cunning too- I see plans and tricks and grudges. My, my Nico Di Angelo. Where to put you?_

“That’s all well and good,” Nico thought, distractedly noticing how the other first years were looking at him, interested and apprehensive. “But where should I go?”

_I think, the hat mused, that you should decide your own path. Where do you want to go, Nico?_

“Me?” Nico started at the question. “You’re asking me where I want to be placed?”

_Nico Di Angelo, in my time here at Hogwarts, I have learned many things, and one of the most important is that every hero thrives best with the opportunity to control their destiny._

“But I’m no hero.”

_Not yet you aren’t._

Nico cast his gaze across the hall. His face got a little warm when he realized just how many people were gazing up at him expectantly. He looked over at the Slytherin table, catching the eye of the Reyna girl, who didn’t exactly smile at him, but the tilt of her chin and the set of her jaw gave him confidence anyways.

He didn’t know if he was brave, or true of heart. If he was being honest with himself, the values of a Gryffindor seemed like very high standards, and he could feel his courage actually leaving him at the thought of having to live up to that. And the values of being a Slytherin scared him too- he didn’t believe in the idea that all Slytherins were bad at all, but he had to admit to himself that their values were the most negative of the lot. Cunning and charm can be good in the right situations. But Nico didn’t know the first thing about being charming. He always used to charm his teachers by just being adorable, but somehow he felt that wasn’t really what the hat was describing. And for Hufflepuff, the sayings about being a friend, loyal and true… well he was certainly loyal, but he’d always had trouble making close friends at school. He just had acquaintances. He mainly stuck with his sister.

His sister….

He’d always gotten great grades in school. He was intelligent and dedicated to schoolwork and was willing to try very hard to do well. But he knew that wasn’t really what Ravenclaw was about either. It was creativity, it was ingenuity, and it was passion. Did he have that? He had no idea.

But then he looked at the Ravenclaw table and saw Bianca nervously clutching the arms of her sweater and giving him an encouraging smile and he knew what he had to do.  
“I want to be with my sister.”

_Are you sure?_

“Yes, of course I’m sure. I always want to be with my sister.”

_It would be wise of you to learn how to deal with situations where that is not possible._

And before Nico could adequately respond so such a morbid statement, the hat was yelling “RAVENCLAW!” into the hall, and he was being ushered into a cheering table next to Bianca.

She pulled him into a tight hug and whispered “I’m so glad you’re here,” into his ear over the roar of the cheering table. People he didn’t recognize were patting him on the back, so he just smiled meekly at them. Annabeth leaned over from the other side of Bianca and gave him a smile and a thumbs up.

Over the roar of Grace, Jason being sorted into Gryffindor, Nico took in the table in front of him. The plates were shiny and golden and all completely empty. His face reflected back at him, bright and watery like he was staring through several layers of plastic wrap. Even so, his face looked as blank as his mind felt. He was completely overwhelmed.

There was so much noise, and so many people, and so much to look at. He noticed that the longer the Sorting went on, the longer it took for the Houses to finish their cheering so that the next person could be called. He could see some of the older students rolling their eyes at this, sometimes even shushing them. He supposed it must be old news to them by now, but it was still so exciting and new to him that he cheered as loud as he could when people were sorted into Ravenclaw.

When one girl, Lou Ellen Sinclair, was sorted into Ravenclaw, she plopped into the seat next to Nico. It was the girl with the pink hair that he had run into in the entryway. She smiled a mischievous smile at him. He said hello. She offered her fist to him, and he tapped it with his, uncertainly. He guessed they were friends now?

“Solace, William.”

Nico looked back up to see who was being sorted, but before he could see the boy’s face it was hidden by the hat. The hat took a few moments, and the boy fidgeted nervously. Nico wondered idly what was happening when the boy’s fists suddenly clenched onto his robes. The hat chuckled, and yelled “HUFFLEPUFF!”

The boy turned around and set the hat back on the stool carefully, before turning in the opposite direction towards the cheering table, hands firmly stuck in the pockets of his robes, and head tilted so low it seemed like his chin was touching his chest.

Nico wondered why he looked so afraid.

Nico was beginning to get hungry by now. He hadn’t eaten anything since that morning’s breakfast, because when the sweet old candy lady offered him some he got too shy and said no before even thinking. His eyes glazed over, and he spaced out a bit, only clapping when Valdez, Leo was sorted into Ravenclaw. Finally, finally, it was the last person to be sorted, a chubby Asian boy called up with the name Frank Zhang who was placed into Hufflepuff.

The woman, whose name was Professor McGonagall as Bianca had whispered to him, rolled up her parchment and turned to the students. Her magically amplified voice said, “I will save my start of term notices for after supper. But for now, eat!”

Nico wondered briefly if she had gone mad. There was no food on the tables! But then he jumped, startled, as hundreds of plates of steaming, savory food popped up on the golden platters in front of him.

Nico didn’t even know where to begin, but his loudly grumbling stomach pushed him to load up his plate with a little bit of everything from the plates around him. Then, he dug in. He sighed in happiness. It was all amazing. Bianca looked over at him and snorted a little bit.

“You have mashed potatoes on your nose,” she said.

Nico felt himself blush and furiously wiped his nose, looking around to make sure no one else had seen. Unfortunately the Lou Ellen girl was smirking at him again. What was up with that? Was she ever not smirking?

“So, Nico…” the girl started out, “Ever play wizards Battleship?”

Nico swallowed the bite of chicken he’d just put in his mouth, shaking his head. “Is that anything like Muggle Battleship?” He asked. “I’ve played that.”

Her eyes lit up excitedly, and the sarcastic smirk pulled up into a genuine smile. “It’s a lot like that, only way cooler. The ships are armed with tiny crews and they send real mini explosives to the other game board!” Then she was off, explaining the finer points of the game. She got a little maniacal light in her eyes when she talked about winning her first game by sending tiny game spies over to scout out the playing board with her sister not noticing.

“That was actually the first time I used magic,” She finished, giggling a little. Nico felt a bit breathless from laughing. He could see Bianca looking at him, pleased, out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored her for the time being. “The game people aren’t supposed to be able to leave the board, but I somehow took the barriers down. It was really cool! When was the first time you used magic?”

Nico felt his grin become a little fixed. “Well… I never really showed much magic as a kid. My parents thought I was a… what’s the word? A Squib? Yeah, that. We weren’t really sure if I was really magic until I got my Hogwarts letter.” His grin came back, full and easy, as he turned his face towards the star filled ceiling. “But look at me now.”

Lou Ellen punched Nico in the arm, shocking him out of his meaningful moment.

“Yeah man! Look at you now! You’ll be great!” Nico smiled at her. She was loud, and excitable, and nice enough to give advice to people she barely knew. And apparently really, really strong, he thought ruefully, rubbing the sore spot on his arm where she had punched him.

They finished the dinner, chatting idly with each other and with Bianca and Annabeth, who introduced Nico to their other friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Bianca kept calling her Red, which Nico supposed was fitting, since not only was it her initials, she had the wildest curly red hair he’d ever seen. She politely shook his hand, and Nico noticed that her sleeves and tie were stained with various colors of paint.

When desert came around, Nico was already full. But when he spotted the bowl of chocolate gelato, he knew he had to take some. It reminded him of the homemade gelato his mom made at her restaurant. Goodness, he missed them already. He resolved to write a letter to Hazel first thing in the morning about everything that had happened so far.

All too soon, the desert cleared itself away, and contented babble filled the huge hall. The soft murmur of the voices soon died away however, as Professor McGonagall stood up to address the congregation once more. Mind clear or hunger and worries, Nico took in her appearance for the first time.

She appeared to be fairly old, her hair a stark and straight gray, but she stood with such authority and presence that Nico subconsciously straightened his own back in turn. She gave the students all a hard stare before her face melted into a smile of its own kind. Her arms opened slightly, like she was about to engage in a hug with all of them.

“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Her voice echoed throughout the hall. “I hope you all found your summer holidays to be enjoyable, and I hope you sit in your seats tonight ready to begin a new year of learning and magic, whether it is your first night here, or your hundredth.

“I have a few start of term announcements. First years must be aware that passage into the forest is strictly forbidden without express permission from a professor. Anyone found to be breaking this rule will be punished.” She looked out at the students over her rectangular glasses with an air of ‘you had better not even dare.’

“I would also like to announce that next year our Potions master will be retiring.” An old, fat man, raised his hand and waved jovially. “So for this year, Professor Slughorn will be training the next Potions master. She will be in all of his classes. May I introduce Miss Bainsworth?” The students clapped politely as she swept her hand to her side, and a girl who looked to be in her mid-20s stood. Her curly red hair caught the candlelight strikingly, and even from this far away Nico could see her wide, childlike eyes. He caught them, just for a moment. He couldn’t explain the shiver that was sent down his spine when he did.

Professor McGonagall waited for the meager clapping to subside. “All House’s Quidditch tryouts will be held in two weeks. All students are reminded that magical interference before and during these tryouts are strictly forbidden- no potions or spells for luck, no potions or spells for confusion, and no potions or spells to slow or worsen reflexes or agility. I cannot believe I have to stress this, but it is apparently necessary.” Her eyes flashed to the Slytherin table, where a gangly boy with curly brown hair waves jovially at her, before a boy that looked remarkably similar to him slapped the back of his head.

Professor McGonagall glared, but it seemed forced. “Now, I trust you’ve all eaten your fill, so if I could have the Prefects please lead the first years to their dormitories! You will all receive your class schedules first thing in the morning. Thank you and have a good night!” She tapped her wand once on the podium and the doors leading into the Great Hall opened with a flourish. A happy, contented buzz filled the air along with the scraping of the benches as people stood. Bianca gave Nico’s hand a squeeze before gently pushing him in the direction of the girl in the blue tie shouting, “Ravenclaw first years over here please! Over here, please!”

He looked at her blue tie and then glanced down at his own. Huh. It had changed colors automatically. He was now sporting blue and bronze around his neck. Cool.

Lethargy was settling into his bones, and he lazily crowded with the other Ravenclaw first years around the girl. Lou Ellen kept whispering jokes and puns out of the side of her mouth, and Nico kept making tired little snorts.

“Right, is this everyone? Yes? Good. Off we go.” And they followed her like tiny little ducklings.

Nico doubted that he would have been able to keep track of all of the corridors and staircases even if he hadn’t been exhausted. There were just too many. And after everything that had happened that day, he couldn’t find it in himself to even be surprised when the staircase began to move while they were still on it. He just stifled a yawn with the back of his hand and blinked drowsily. Surprise would have to wait.

They went up a dizzying spiral staircase before pausing at the top. The prefect held up her hand for silence, even though no one was really talking.

A soft melodious voice spoke out clearly over the crowd. Nico craned his neck to see who was speaking, but he was too short. Gosh darn.

“Can one create something from nothing?”

The prefect got a thoughtful look on her face, before turning to grin at the door. She answered, “Well, according to the Law of Conservation of matter, there is no such thing as nothing, as nothing can truly be destroyed. So I say yes, because it would be illogical to presume otherwise.”

The soft voice responded, “Well phrased.” And the door swung open.

Nico first impression of his new common room was that it was cold. His second impression was that it was really really cool.

There were high arched windows along every wall, letting in soft moonlight. He could see the lake that they had rowed across, and the sweeping grass grounds. The room itself was composed of beautiful high arches with a stunningly detailed depiction of the stars painted on the ceiling. There was also a large marble statue of a woman wearing an intricate crown standing serenely, gazing out over the squashy blue armchairs. Bookcases filled all the walls where there were not windows. Even in his sleep stupor, Nico could recognize how breathtaking this was.

“Alright, boys dormitories on the left, and girls on the right. Any special accommodations need to be brought up with Professor McGonagall. Please be down here in the common room by 7:30 so that I can give you your schedules and lead you back to the Great Hall for breakfast. Any questions?” Silence. “Good! Just follow your respective staircases up. Your names, as well as the names of your roommates, should be on the door. Your trunks have already been brought up. Sleep well!”

Nico trudged up the left staircase. The boys eventually whittled out, going into their respective rooms, until there were just four of them left at the very top. Nico looked at the sheet of paper on the door.

Clovis Cadal  
Nico Di Angelo  
Malcolm Pace  
Leo Valdez

Nico was so exhausted when he walked through the door that he only had time to locate which bed contained his clothes before he collapsed onto it, asleep. He didn’t even have time to remove his socks.


	4. The First Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so first things first: sorry for not posting anything for like literally seven months?? for half of that time my excuse was not having a computer, but the other half was just writer's block and lack of motivation. but i'm getting back in the mojo, and i'm already working on future chapters so hopefully you'll see me again soon<3

The morning dawned early, soft pink and orange that gradually faded to the periwinkle of early day. Birds woke and sang their songs high and clear to show the rest of the world their voices. A soft wind drifted through the trees of the crowded, sleepy forest, and if one were to stand at the peak of the highest tower of Hogwarts, even then they wouldn't see a cloud in the sky.

Nico woke up to the soft, warm feeling of sunlight falling onto his chest. Sitting up sleepily, he rubbed at his eyes and stretched, letting out a soft groan. Reaching down to push off his covers, his hands brushed nothing but the crumpled black robes he'd worn at the Sorting Ceremony the previous night. He was still lying atop the covers (soft and fluffy though they undoubtedly were), clothed in his robes and shoes from last night. Despite this, he felt incredibly well-rested, and briefly considered laying there all morning. He sighed, gazing up at the midnight blue top to his four poster bed. He quite liked the idea of having curtains that he could pull around his bed whenever he wanted. It was like having a room within a room. Or like living in a bathtub. He rolled to the side, ready to catch a glimpse of his new roommates tiredly getting ready for breakfast- and instead shot out of bed. 

They weren’t there.

Panic rising up in his throat, he tore through his trunk, searching desperately for the alarm clock he had packed. Stark black numbers that cut against a soft muted gray green read clearly: 8:00 AM. 

He was supposed to be down in the common room at 7:30 to be led to breakfast. Had they left already? Was he going to be late? Why hadn’t his roommates woken him up?

Nico ran his hands through his hair, closing his eyes to take a deep breath, to calm himself. It’d be fine. Maybe they hadn't left yet! He looked back at the other tousled and obviously slept in beds in the room, and bit back the resurgence of the panic. They'd definitely already left. No, he decided. He’d just get dressed and make his way back down to the Great Hall for breakfast himself, and find the right prefect to give him his schedule. He was capable enough, smart enough. That was what being a Ravenclaw was all about, right? It shouldn’t have been that hard.

He tore through his trunk, throwing on cleanly pressed robes haphazardly and tying his new (blue) tie into a knot, frustrated. God, he was so angry at himself. This was something he'd been looking forward to for a really, really long time, and because of a lapse in judgement caused by too much food and sleepily undermined decisions, he might have messed it up. He closed his eyes, forcing himself once again to calm down. They couldn't kick him out for being late, could they? If anything, people might giggle or something, he might get a stern look from a teacher. Nevertheless, he had already smeared his chance for a perfect first day, and all that was left to do was a make sure the rest of the day went better. The first way to do this was to make sure he got down to the Great Hall quickly and efficiently. That would be easy, right?

Wrong. Nico got lost before he’d even started. When Nico frantically hurried downstairs, he couldn’t remember which of the doors he’d taken to get into the common room- there was one made of marble, one made of wood, and one made of steel. Merlin, why did everything have to be so complex? Who needed three doors to choose from? 

He vaguely remembered the door he'd entered being wooden the night before, so he chose that one. Instead of going out of the common room portal, like he’d thought he’d been doing, he found himself at the top of a staircase. The common room door led onto a staircase, yes, but that staircase case was a spiral one. Nico distinctly remembered the dizzy, sick feeling he had gotten when they reached the top. Instead these steep steps extended further than he could see, lit by glowing yellow torches on either side. When Nico turned around to try a different door, he found nothing but a blank wall. 

_‘Well,’_ he gulped, _‘Guess I’ve only got one option then.’_

And he started down. 

The more steps he took, the more nervous he became. There had been enough for at least five or six floors by now, but the staircase hadn’t strayed or curved at all-it seemed to Nico as if it simply stretched into the core of the Earth. The air was musty and thick, and full of dust, as if Nico was the first person to tread these steps in years. The staircase grew steadily warmer as he descended, both by what seemed to be natural heat, and by the physical exertion Nico himself felt as he hurried down the stairs in thick, starched, robes. Nico loosened his ill tied tie, and eventually let it hung around his neck like a scarf out of frustration. Whatever. It's not like his tardiness would be mendable with an impeccable uniform. Man, if he had regretted not setting his alarm clock before, then he really regretted it now. He wiped his damp forehead, grimacing at the offensive glistening sweat.

Finally, the walls started to seem brighter, covered in fresh natural light. Heart pounding, Nico hurried down the last steps, hoping to all the gods he’d ever heard of that he would end up near the Great Hall. He turned out into the corridor and- yeah. He still had no idea where he was. 

It seemed like another regular old stone hallway, maybe not as grand as some of the ones on the first floor, but still relatively large- or so it seemed to Nico. The light seemed warmer down here, somehow. Like the sun that was shining in from the windows that were set oddly high in the walls was being transformed from just photons to the feeling you get when someone hugs you really tightly. Nico liked it immediately. What he didn’t like was the fact that it didn’t seem to connect to the Great Hall in any way. 

There was a door at the end of the long room. Nico decided that was probably his best bet. He was planning on swiftly and efficiently moving on through till he found any recognizable landmarks, but he got distracted.

The next hallway was decidedly… busier. Not from people, but from items, from decorations. And from smells too. For some reason, it smelled really, really good over here. Both Nico’s stomach and Nico’s head agreed that this was the right path to take. But that wasn’t what distracted him. It wasn’t the smell (though it was wonderful), and it wasn’t the giant fruit painting (though it was atrocious), and it wasn’t the sound of distant footsteps (though it was encouraging). Nico walked past a seemingly inconspicuous stack of barrels. Then walked back. And stared at them. 

There was a door here.

He wasn’t sure why he knew, or how he knew. But there was a door here.

It was almost like there was a draft coming out of it, just a slightly chilly bit of air coming out to drag at his robes, but he knew there was no actual draft, no actual air. Something was just… off about this wall. It was as if someone had built an entire room, full of wonderful and fantastic things, and forgotten to make a door. So they just sit outside the wall, knowing something fantastic was just out of sight. Behind a plain stone wall, and a couple of dirty old barrels. 

Nico examined one more closely. It appeared to be a very old barrel of some sort of ale, dating back to medieval times. Nico didn’t even want to know what it looked like inside the barrel. Nico was almost afraid to touch it- he was afraid it would dissolve at his fingertips. Still, curiosity is a powerful thing, so he couldn’t help but reach out one hand, just to touch it once….

“WAIT, DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

A sudden shout startled Nico, and in his haste to whip around at the voice yelling at him, the boy running at him, he tripped over the edge of his cloak, and fell firmly backwards against the barrel.

The good news was that it didn’t disintegrate at his touch.

The bad news was that it exploded. 

Nico found himself thrown into the middle of the hallway as the barrel erupted with some white liquid. In trying to right himself under the tumult of ever flowing frothy liquid, he only succeeded in slipping a little more thoroughly, landing firmly on his arm. Nico panted heavily, cradling the abused appendage, trying to breathe deeply through his nose, but had to stop because _dear God it smelled awful._ It was an acrid, pungent smell, full of sharpness and the promise of rot. Nico stuck his tongue to his wrist begrudgingly, just to make sure, and winced in disgust. 

“Vinegar? Really?”

Nico heard a little chuckle above him and looked up.

It was that boy again. The one he saw in Flourish and Blotts. His hair was still as curly and light as it had been the first time Nico had seen it, except now it was plastered to one side of his head, sticking oddly up on end on the other side, like he'd slept on it funny and gone out without consulting a mirror. His eyes were twinkling. 

"Why was I just doused in vinegar?" Nico asked, still dripping.

“I thought it was a little bit overkill too, but I also thought no one would be stupid enough to cause it to happen. For once I'm glad to be wrong.” He laughed again.

Nico looked at him in bewilderment, feeling a little bit of anger flush into his ears, but that only made the taller boy laugh harder.

“Sorry, I'm not trying to be mean. But jeez man, you look like a kitten that just fell into a sink. Why were you trying to get into the Hufflepuff common room in the first place?” 

Nico started to defend himself, then paused. “That’s the Hufflepuff common room entrance?”  
“Well yeah,” the boy said, “What did you think it was?”

“I don’t know. I felt like there was a door there and decided to investigate like any rational human, and your common room decided to drown me in salad dressing.”

The other boy snorted again, muttering “Salad dressing!” under his breath in amusement. 

Nico shifted, trying to stand up out of his puddle, and hissed in pain when he put pressure down on his wrist. The boy’s laughter stopped for the first time, and he looked curiously at him, before crouching down next to Nico.

"Hey, are you hurt?" He sounded legitimately concerned.

Nico looked at the boy, then at his wrist, and then back at the boy, suspiciously. He nodded, unsure if he should accept help from someone who'd been laughing at him only seconds previously.  
The boy took his wrist gingerly, lightly enough to not cause any further damage, and examined it. 

"Yeah, I think it's broken, or at least splintered. I should probably take you to the nurse, but..." He trailed off, gazing down the hallway towards the staircase. Nico followed his eyes, which seemed emptier all of a sudden. There was nothing at the end of the hallway. He looked back at the blond boy, who was back to scrutinizing Nico with those squinted pale blue eyes. He seemed to have decided something.

"Alright," he said, "I'm going to fix your wrist. Brace yourself." He smirked. “Literally.” And before Nico could say anything, like _no please do not do that_ or even yell, the boy had pulled out his wand, tapped it to Nico's wrist, and said in a clear voice, "Ferula."

Bandages sprung from the boy’s wand and wrapped themselves snugly around Nico's wrist, securing the bones in place. Nico, entranced by the magically produced healing, flexed his fingers lightly to make sure he could still move them. The boy had apparently been talking, and Nico hastened to listen.

"...don't know how to stop the pain but that should at least splint the bone, you could go to the nurse to see if she can do anything but-"

"How'd you do that?" Nico cut him off, wondrously.

The boy stopped, dumbstruck. "What?"

"I mean, how did you..." He waved his bandaged arm around insistently. "You're a first year, right?" The boy nodded. Nico felt like he was sinking. "Oh... I don't know any magic...."

"Oh!" The boy said. "Don't worry about it. I only know magic because my dad-" He stopped like he was a wet towel thrown into a freezer. His back went lightning rod straight, and he didn't speak for several seconds. When he did, it was just to quietly whisper, "Never mind."

Nico considered waving his bandaged hand in front of Golden Boy's eyes to shake him out of whatever funk he'd just fallen into. He wanted to bring back the lighthearted tone to the conversation. He felt like he was sitting on icicles. Looking at the vacant hollowness in eyes that had previously been filled with stars, he realized that the blonde boy wasn't just gazing off into the distance this time, he was looking at something.

“Nico! There you are!”

Nico warily took his eyes off of the blank boy in front of him and glanced back. Luke, the tall Gryffindor prefect was hurrying toward him, his face set in a smile so wide it looked painful. 

“Bianca was worried when you didn’t show up with the other first years. She asked me to help look for you. I thought you might have followed your nose to the wrong place! Guess I was right.” He stopped, taking Nico’s drenched appearance, and apparent smell in for seemingly the first time. He scrunched up his nose. “Why were you trying to break into the Hufflepuff common room?”

“I wasn’t trying to break into anything! I was startled, and I fell against the barrel!”

“Startled? By what?”

“By him!” Nico turned around, gesturing.

But the golden boy was gone.

Nico felt Luke clap a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “C’mon Nico. Let’s get you some breakfast and a schedule. If we hurry, you’ll get to class without being late.”

 

He was five minutes late to Transfiguration. 

\- - -

Nico was a bright kid. In school, no matter what the subject, he picked up the material like it was no problem. It wasn't that he was naturally smarter than everyone- no, that wasn't the case. The reason he was so adept at absorbing information was mainly attributed to his fierce desire to learn. He wanted to know the answer- so he did. Hogwarts turned out to be no different.

The classes themselves were weird and new enough to be enticing. And after years of watching and waiting, he was just so eager to begin that despite his rough start to the morning, he simply apologized sheepishly to his new teacher, and hurried to ready his quill and book on his desk.

His seat-mate, a boy with wild, curly black hair, wrinkled his nose. He leaned over and whispered, “Bro, why do you smell like vinegar?”

Nico grimaced and whispered back. “Long story. Is it really that bad?” One look and a raised eyebrow confirmed it. Nico groaned softly and hid his face. Luke had been kind enough to cast some kind of warming spell, so that he at least wouldn’t be dripping wet, but it seemed nothing could dampen his permeating stench. 

The boy poked him in the arm insistently. His brown eyes were alight with some dawning idea. 

“Hey aren’t you one of my roommates? You’re Nico right?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah. What’s your name?” he whispered back.

“I’m Leo Valdez. Muggleborn. Libra. Hopeless romantic.”

Nico smiled awkwardly. “That’s… nice.”

Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise from the very front of the classroom, and their conversation was cut short. When Nico looked for the source, he was surprised to find the teacher, who he hadn’t gotten the chance to observe very closely, sitting cross-legged atop of his desk. 

He seemed like a fairly young teacher, especially by Hogwarts standards. If Nico had to wager a guess, he would think that it had only been 5-10 years since this man had attended Hogwarts himself. He had short cropped dark hair, and even though his nose was straight and severe, his eyes twinkled with kindness, and his face was molded into a patient smile. He wore the same style of robes that the other teachers wore, but his had an array of colorful adornments, and with the way he was sitting, all the students could see his brightly colored, mismatched socks. 

“So! Welcome to Transfiguration class. You’ve all passed the first test, which is getting here, even if some of you got here a little later than expected,” here he gave a sly smile to Nico, who fought the urge to hiccup nervously. “I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you throughout this year! My name is Professor McGonagall.” Curious titters and whispered, “McGonagall?”’s broke out across the room, but the Professor simply chuckled a bit. 

“As you probably realize, I have the same last name as our Headmistress- and the reason for this is because I’m actually her nephew. She taught me everything I needed to know, and everything I wanted to know, and managed to make me want to learn more, which is why I’m your professor now, hoping to do the same to you. 

“But,” he continued lightly, “For the sake of making things less confusing, I like to ask my students just to refer to me as Professor Michael. That alright with you all?” A sea of nodding heads followed. 

He grinned. “Great!” he said. “Let’s get started then.”

The idea of Transfiguration fascinated Nico. Turning one thing into something else was really the most magical thing he could think of. It was like alchemy, and science, and otherworldly powers all in one motion- the rearrangement of atoms into a different form, with a different look, to serve a different purpose. The idea of Transfiguration was great. The execution, however, was less than great. 

“Are you having any luck turning your match into a needle?” Nico asked Leo after about ten minutes of frustrating attempts. 

“No,” Leo grumbled. “Mine keep catching fire. It’s funny, that. Pretty much all magic I do sets stuff on fire. Handy for making tea, but not so much so for making needles.” He poked his wand at his match again, prodding it insistently. It sprang up into a roaring flame almost immediately. Leo sighed, sounding almost bored, and poured some of his water bottle onto it. He swept the soggy, charred stick into a pile with all the others, and in one glance, Nico counted about twenty. He made a mental note to himself to never ever ask Leo to make his tea, even if he said it was fine.

The motion for the spell was simple. All you had to do was wave your wand and literally say “Match to needle.” But, as Michael explained to them, it was still a difficult concept to grasp. It is the process of literally changing something into something else. He told them to be patient, and gave them the advice of reading the textbook summary of the process because, he said, “It’s always easier to do something when you know why it works.”

The class ended abruptly, without any of them expecting it. The little tea timer that Professor Michael had used to get their attention at the beginning of the class started screaming, signally the class was over. Oh, and it wasn’t screaming as in a little tinny sound ring, like the one used earlier- this was actually, literally screaming. The timer sprouted little legs and hopped from desk to desk to get to the Professor, all the while scrambling to shout, “IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER! THE CLASS! IT’S OVER!”

When it landed on his shoulder, Professor Michael patted it absentmindedly until it settled down, while he finished talking to Lou Ellen about her brand new, shiny needle. Afterward, he called everyone to order.

“Alright everybody! I’m very proud of your progress already. In just one class alone, one single class of thirty, three of you have already managed to master transfiguration of the match to the needle! That’s 10%! Wonderful! Those three students are Lou Ellen Sinclair, Malcolm Pace, and William Solace! Let’s give them all a quick round of applause before we go.”

Lou Ellen, in all her pink-haired glory, stood up and gave a mighty bow to the mild applause. Malcolm, who Nico recognized as one of the boys in his dorm, gave a slightly disinterested nod, and a half smile. And Nico looked around to see who the third boy, William Solace was, and was shocked to finally learn the blond boy’s name. He was already standing, holding his books as if ready to bolt out the door as soon as possible, but he looked like he’d frozen in place because of all the eyes on him, his own pale blue eyes wide in discomfort. His face was growing steadily redder. 

And as soon as Professor Michael said, “Alright! Please head on to your next class. I look forward to seeing you soon!”, he was out the door, pushing through the crowded hallway until he was out of sight.


	5. The Prophecy

Chapter 5-  
It dawned bright and cold in Will’s dormitory. The morning had that peculiar chill that only morning contains, like sleep is still clinging inside your mouth. It is too warm on the inside of a person, so the air tries to compensate and bring you to a compromise. Will loves it. 

The sheets were still warm and inviting when he climbed out of them, but he shook them off because he knew he must. He tried very hard to not think about what his sheets mean, about where he was, about what he must do. His sheets are yellow. His pillow is black. For a moment, he just sat at the edge of his bed, on the brink of rising, listening to the soft sighing sounds of sleep coming from the beds. He felt empty. He got up. 

Running his fingers through his curly blond hair, he risked a glance at all of his roommates. He didn’t know any of them yet. The names on the door had called them Cecil, Frank, Mitchell, and Tyler, but he doesn’t know who is who. 

If he sticks to his plan, he’ll never have to know.

***

Will Solace grew up in a small town in the south on England, with his mother and father. His mother, well-known Muggle singer, and his father, respected and jolly Unspeakable at the Ministry of Magic, made for a beautiful couple. They probably met on a beach with the sun shining and the wind flowing through their hair as Apollo, his father, charmed her with his good looks and good nature. Will doesn’t know. He never bothered to ask. 

However it was that they met, they fell in love instantly, and got married soon after. Within a few months they found out that Naomi was going to have a child, and they were, of course, overjoyed. Everything seemed perfect. But, like most perfect things, it didn’t last. 

Apollo’s job didn’t often interfere with their family life. He would kiss his pregnant wife in the morning, apparate into the Ministry main area, and descend with the rickety elevator as far down as it would go until he reached his destination in the Department of Mysteries. And he would have mysterious and exciting days carefully experimenting or predicting or doing whatever it was that he did in the Department of Mysteries. Will was never allowed to ask about his dad’s days as an Unspeakable, but he was never really curious about them either. Because about a month or so before Will was born, something happened. Something to make Will shiver at the word ‘mystery’, something to make Will flinch at the sight of crystal balls. 

Apollo had been carefully moving glass prophecies from one aisle to the next, categorizing them, cleaning them, and setting them back. But he slipped up. 

See, the thing about the prophecies in the Department of Mysteries is that any contact with human skin, rupturing of the crystal, or touch of liquid will set it off. Any of these things will cause the prophecy to be ‘used up’, if you will. Whomever had cast the prophecy would begin relaying it, and would continue to repeat it until deactivation. The prophecies, to most, are sacred, and should only be heard by those intended to hear them. Because of this, Unspeakables must wear protective gloves and headgear to protect the glass from their bodies, and to avoid any accidents. But no matter what you try, there is no preventative for human clumsiness. And Apollo was never the most careful person. 

When Will was about 5, his father told him about the one prophecy he had broken. This was a highly dangerous and illegal move- Unspeakables, quite obviously, were not allowed to speak of their jobs. Apollo would have only done something as risky as telling it to a child if he truly believed that a.) this child could be trusted b.) that it was important enough to be told and c.) that this child would be in danger if he didn’t know. Well, the situation fit all three criteria. 

Will still dreams about that night sometimes. He was young, so young that he just thought his dad was going to read him a bed time story, like he always did. Apollo had been looking uncharacteristically grave. His face, with its smile lines in the corners of its mouth and its crinkles about the eyes was hanging heavy, like someone had tied a brick to his chin. Will, of course, didn’t notice it. He just bounced and giggled and tucked himself under the covers, anticipating a wonderful, lighthearted story to help him get to sleep.

It never came. 

Instead Apollo slipped under the covers with him. And told Will that he had some very important grownup things to talk to him about. Will had had no idea at the time, but his life was about to change in a big, big way.

Apollo told the story of accidentally breaking the prophecy that day on work, a day that, when he’d started it, he hadn’t realized would be his last at the Ministry. He had been cleaning the orbs. It was a very delicate, essential, and tedious process, and Unspeakables drew straws to see who’d be on cleaning rotation every day. It was a long, and tiring, and very easy to get distracted. 

Apollo had picked up an orb in his gloved hand that looked exactly like all the others. As he tiredly siphoned off the dust with his wand, his fingers, though gentle and slender and skilled enough to perform muggle surgery, slipped. He says he remembers the moment perfectly. It had fallen as though in slow motion, but also not like that at all; as if the whole world suddenly pressed in on him and his heart stopped, watching its graceless descent. 

And then it shattered with a tiny tinkling sound, and Apollo’s life shattered with it.

_“…… The son of a god will be the catalyst of our destruction…. Born under a twin moon, born to a man of amelioration…. And this child will have power of which the world knows not…. If the child is to realize this power, all hope will be lost…. A child of death born under a twin moon will be a catalyst for our destruction….”_

He told Will that at first, the words had meant nothing to him. They meant nothing, but there was something nagging at him every time he thought about them. A bad feeling in his stomach. It pushed and pulled at him until he did the only thing he could think of doing: leaving. And since no one had noticed his blunder and had rushed to obliviate him, he just cleaned up his mess quietly and went to his boss to peacefully resign. He had wanted to try his hand at becoming a Healer at St. Mungos anyway. He shook hands with his boss, and returned home with the prophecy safely tucked into his memory. 

And it had still meant nothing to him. Yes, the lines about being the “son of a god”, and “born under a twin moon” bothered him, since he shared the same name as the Greek god of the sun, twin of the moon goddess Artemis, but he managed to push it out of his mind. The other lines cushioned the blow. But he kept the memory tucked in his dinky little pensieve, just in case. It wasn’t until William Anthony Solace, born on March 12, 7 ounces, was pronounced dead upon birth that Apollo began fearing the prophecy. Because even though the doctors were able to revive Will, and Apollo and Naomi had a glowing, healthy baby boy, now all of the lines of the prophecy fit. 

He told Will all of this; Will, who was too small to understand, but old enough to recognize the gravity of the situation. From that moment onwards, the dynamic of Will’s life changed. As he started exhibiting signs of magic, Apollo would rush to control it, to conceal it. Apollo pushed Will into the muggle world, to make him fit in, but at every turn would urge for caution, and prevented Will from ever having real freedom. 

Apollo probably thought that he had been helping. That he had been preparing Will for the world, wrapping a little bit of mental bubble wrap around him, to protect him. But what Apollo didn’t know was that every “bandage” was a weight, and that every layer of bubble wrap built another wall. And Apollo certainly couldn’t have known that all his effort for preparing Will to go out into the world only made him more afraid of it. 

Will began to draw in on himself. He buried himself in books and theory, where he couldn’t hurt anyone. He became quiet, and only allowed himself to laugh and talk freely with his family. He grew anxious, afraid of acting out, of saying the wrong thing, of losing control. He was afraid of the power that the prophecy talked about, afraid of a power he wasn’t even sure he had. Will grew up scared and lonely, with the weight of the prophecy balancing on top of his head, pressing his chin into his chest. He started to walk with his gaze on the floor. His hands would shake when people talked to him, and he was afraid of looking people in the eye. He was afraid of doing magic. 

***

Lost in thought, Will wandered down to the Hufflepuff table for breakfast, and sat on the end, alone.

Ever since he realized he had anxiety, he’d started planning his every move, so that he wouldn’t mess anything up. And so that even if something went wrong, he’d have already thought of it, so it wouldn’t be a surprise, and therefore wouldn’t be that bad of a thing to happen! That’s how he rationalized it, anyway. It probably wasn’t the best thing for him, mentally, because it meant he was always dwelling on potential bad happenings, but it comforted him. He couldn’t seem to stop himself. 

He finished his breakfast and got up, his intuition telling him he had time before class. He began to wander, and planned out how his day would go. So, he decided, he would get to Transfiguration early, and snag a seat on the side of the room, preferably in the back, because no one ever notices the kids there. He’d sit down, and so he wouldn’t have to interact with anyone, he’d pull his book out of his bag, and—

And. 

Oh no. He had forgotten his bag! In his empty headed wanderings, he was killing time prematurely, before it had even gotten the chance to do anything important with its life. Will turned on the spot, hoping for some kind of magical clock, miraculously hanging on a wall. He didn’t find one, but by some fated stroke of luck, a big clock tower bell started ringing. And the chimes told him it was 8:15. Oh jeez. He was outside, in some courtyard, and he didn’t have any idea how to get back to his common room from here, let alone make it to breakfast afterwards, let alone make it to class on time. He cursed under his breath, and ran in what he sincerely hoped was the right direction. 

Winded, Will leaned on the wall at the beginning of the kitchen’s hallway. He knew he could make it now. He had enough time. He’d stopped a prefect on the way and gotten his schedule and a pretty primitive map. The prefect was trying to explain something to him, chattering away incessantly and overall being just too friendly and helpful, so Will had tossed her a quick thanks and went back on his way. As soon as he got his breath, he could pop in, grab his bag, and make it to his first Transfiguration lesson without being late. 

But. There was a boy in the hallway. 

Will ducked back behind the wall a little, so he could see the boy, but the boy couldn’t see him. He watched as the dark haired walked briskly, and then stopped suddenly, like he’d been shocked. And, curiously, he turned directly toward the spot that Will knew concealed his common room. 

The thing was, Will knew who this was. It was the boy he’d run into in Flourish and Blotts, and made the mistake of laughing with. Will knew his name was Nico, had heard it called at the boy in the store that day by a flouncing girl who could only be his sister, and had heard it called to the entire school before he was placed in Ravenclaw. Will had watched quietly from his new table, still shaking with the anxious aftershocks of all of those eyes on him at once, and remembered connecting the two cheerful, hopeful, and worried faces as the same boy. The same dark-haired, curious boy who was reaching out a hand to touch a moldy, crusty old barrel that Will knew he didn’t know about. 

Will found himself yelling, “WAIT, DON’T TOUCH THAT!” before he could even stop it. 

This apparently startled him, because he fell backwards against it when he heard Will yell, and that only started the geyser’s eruption. It was funny. Of course it was funny! Imagine it; a white, pungent wave of disgusting, acidic vinegar bursting from a barrel to douse a small boy head to foot, a boy who was already fairly short for his age. 

He muddled through their conversation. He said the first things that came to head, laughing and being genuine, because the surprise and hilarity of the situation had shocked his shyness out of commission for the time being at least. He came back into himself a little bit when he realized that Nico had actually hurt himself. When he crouched down and took Nico’s wrist gingerly into his own it struck him what he’d been doing. Laughing. Socializing. Going against his father’s wishes. Acting like his father. He’d even been dumb enough to mention his dad. For a few moments he froze, staring off into space. 

He snapped out of it. He fixed Nico’s wrist, brushed off the praise, and immediately bolted into the common room the second he had an opening. 

He had no time for friends at Hogwarts. 

***

Will might have been afraid of doing magic, but when his new teacher handed him a match and told him to make a needle, Will was going to make a needle. 

The biggest problem was that he was smart- really smart. From the first lesson, in every class he took, without fail the teachers would take an interest in him, praising him for his above average work. He took in information quickly, and easily. And he’d had plenty of time to do so- instead of being out playing or joining sports, or being social in literally any way, he’d stay home and read his dad’s old textbooks. He’d practice wandless magic, because he read in one of them that it was really difficult, and helped aid a wizard in magic with a wand as well. He understood theory. 

It’s really, really hard to lie low when you’re the smartest in the class. Teachers took an interest in him all day, no matter how hard he tried to be out of the way, to sneak under the radar. And by the time classes were finished that first day, whispers were already starting to follow him, and glances were starting to be thrown at him, both appreciative and jealous in nature. Will hated it. 

He kept his head ducked as he swiftly maneuvered through the masses. The hallways were high and vaulted, but not nearly wide enough to accommodate the stumbling hoard of students. Some were tall and broad, obvious seventh years who laughed boisterously and slung their arms comfortably over their groups of friends. Some were as small and thin as him, meekly clutching their books to their chests, avoiding elbows and fighting the current, making cautious small talk with people they had just met, desperate to find some semblance of comfort. Will made himself turn away from it all. 

He decided to take a walk. As he pushed out the side door of the Great Hall, a warm breeze pushed past him, ruffling his hair. It was September, and the leaves on the far off trees were beginning to change, to become a blurred orange and red at the edges. There was an impending chill in the air- nothing that could be felt yet, but a distant tinge of blue in the skyline, like frost waiting to descend. It would be fall soon enough. Will sighed, imagining the clouds of breath that would be visible months from now, and shoved his hands into his pockets. He made his way towards the place the lake met the forest. 

It was only his first day of classes, and he was already overwhelmed. Too many faces, too many voices, too many people. After a whole eleven years of distancing himself, of never getting too close to people, it was a little bit of a dramatic turnaround to be suddenly expected to function normally. He kicked a rock and watched it bounce through the tall, swaying grass. He didn’t know what to do.

Making his way to the edge of the lake, he sat down on the rocky shore, tugging his bag in front of him to hug into his lap. The light shone on the lakes surface, making the murky depths reflect brightly. The further he looked, the more it hurt his eyes. In the distance, he could make out a blurred shore opposite him. Sitting here on the other side, it was hard to believe that he’d rowed all the way across it just the previous night.

He had the sudden impulsive urge to jump in, and swim back to the other side. 

He stood up. 

On the other side he was safe. Warm. Sheltered. 

He took one step. 

On the other side he didn’t have to face destiny, or even think about it. 

He took another.

He could be at home. 

He didn’t realize that he’d kept moving moved towards the lake until the chilled water began seeping against his toes. He watched it uncomprehendingly. He also didn’t realize that the area surrounding him had grown darker, like the sun had gone behind a cloud, even though it was still shining blindingly. He pressed on, impulsively, his mind numb with dulled desperation, soaking his pants up to his mid-calf.

Suddenly, two large, rough hands grabbed him under the armpits. Startled, he yelled and kicked, but whoever was holding him only chuckled a bit. 

“Well, well, thas not gunna do ya any good, is it?” the warm voice said. 

Will kept squirming, but silenced his yells. He recognized the voice as the large hairy man he’d met the night before, the one who’d called himself Hagrid. 

Hagrid set him down gently in front of him, and surveyed Will curiously as he absentmindedly attempted to wring out the ends of his robes. Will could feel his face heating up furiously, embarrassed about being caught trying to swim away. He avoided Hagrid’s eyes. 

“Whaddaya think you’re doin’, wadin’ out into the lake like that?”

Will stared resolutely at his shoes as he answered meekly, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

There was a bit of seaweed stuck on his shoe. He toed it off distractedly as he continued. “I just...” Will struggled to think of something to say, something that didn’t have to do with the prophecy and its weight on him, his mind curiously blank. He landed on a half-truth. “…miss my family.”

If Will had been watching, he would’ve seen Hagrid’s face melt a little with warmth and a tinge of pity. He knelt down as far as he could go, attempting to see eye to eye with him, but he was still a little too tall. 

“Hey,” Hagrid said softly, “It’s alright if ya miss your family. It’s completely normal.”

Will sniffed loudly and rubbed the bottom of his nose. Hagrid surveyed him for a few more moments before smiling softly. “Say, how’d you like a cuppa to take your mind offit before supper? Sometimes talking can help.”

Will raised his eyes and gazed up at him, at this wild, crazy looking man. His hair was curly and frazzled and streaked with gray. He was so large and beefy, 2.5 grown men could stand side by side and make up his mass, lengthwise. He knew that if his mother had seen Hagrid on the street, she would’ve gripped his shoulder tighter and dragged him away. But looking upon Hagrid’s kind face, eyes twinkling with warmth and understanding, and half of the wrinkles on his face made up of smile lines, Will didn’t feel any apprehension. He just felt comfort. 

He spared a last longing look across the lake. The shore was smudged and distant, too far to reach. Too far to get back to. There was a panging, empty feeling in his chest, but he knew that he was hopeless to do anything to stop it. He was here now, on this ground, on this side. He turned back and braved a smile. 

“Tea would be lovely, thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back babay  
> was in a bit of a writer's block with this chapter for a while, but im getting back into the groove.   
> slow and steady wins the race, my dudes;)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I've never written a chaptered fic before, but I'm very excited about this story! If you've ever said to yourself, "Hey, I want to read a really long, slow burning Solangelo Harry Potter Au", this is the fic for you. I'll try to update it fairly often, but I can't promise a definite schedule. Thanks for reading this far!


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